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JAMES MONROE 



IN HIS RELATIONS TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE 
DURING HALF A CENTURY 




1776 to 1826 



BY 



DANIEL C. OILMAN 

PRESIDENT OP THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, BA1TIM0RB 



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BOSTON 
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 

New York: 11 East Seventeenth Street 

(2Tfc 0lft«r?iDe #rej&& <£amfcri&0e 

1883 



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Copyright, 1883, 
By DANIEL C GILMAN 



All rights reserved. 

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The Riverside Press, Cambridge: 
Electrotyped and Printed by H. 0. Houghton & Co. 



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PEEFAOE. 



In the preparation of this volume free use 
was made of Monroe manuscripts which had 
not been published. To those which are in 
the Department of State I have had access by 
permission of the Secretary, Hon. James G. 
Blaine, and transcripts of some of them were 
made for me, with his sanction, by the direc- 
tion of Mr. Theodor6*F:*D*5ght, Librarian of 
the Department. I am under still greater ob- 
ligations to Mrs. S. L. Gouverneur, Jr., of 
Washington, who has in her possession an in- 
valuable collection of letters addressed to Mon- 
roe, the grandfather of her husband, from 
Madison, Calhoun, Rush, Wirt, Lafayette, and 
many other distinguished men, together with 
original drafts of letters written to them and 
to others by Monroe. I am far from having 
exhausted these rich mines. Both collections 
are imperfectly arranged, and without a much 
greater expenditure of time than could be given 
on the spot their contents could not be mas- 



vi PREFACE. 

tered ; and I had not the right to expect or to 
ask unlimited permission to make copies. It 
is obviously most desirable that this private col- 
lection should be bought by the government, 
and that the two groups should be combined, 
arranged, and illustrated with memoranda, for 
consultation if not for publication. They 
throw much light upon this first half century 
of our political progress. The papers controlled 
by Mrs. Gouverneur would greatly enhance the 
value of the more public documents now owned 
by the State Department. 

During the summer vacation in which the 
principal part of this work was prepared for 
the press I was under special obligations to 
the librarian of the Boston Athenaeum, C. A. 
Cutter, Esq., and to the librarian of the Free 
Public Library in Worcester. S. S. Green, Esq., 
for permission to make use of books in their 
charge ; and at home I had like favors from 
the Maryland Historical Society, through the 
courtesy of J. W. M. Lee, Esq., the librarian, 
and Mr. John Gatchell, the assistant. The 
readiness with which the younger school of 
librarians endeavor to make their collections 
serviceable to students at a distance, as well as 
within the walls of the library, deserves most 
grateful recognition. Mr. W. E. Foster, of the 



PREFACE. Vii 

Providence Free Public Library, was so good 
as to prepare for his excellent series of Refer- 
ence Lists a guide to the study of the times of 
Monroe, but was afterwards led to adopt the 
more comprehensive scheme of references to 
the historical period covered by the " American 
Statesmen " series. 

For the transcript of some of Washington's 
notes on Monroe, hitherto not printed, thanks 
are due to the President of Cornell University, 
Hon. A. D. White. R. H. Brock, Esq., of 
Richmond, Judge Watson, of Charlottesville, 
and Prof. J. M. Garnett, of the University of 
Virginia, have also rendered valuable aid, which 
is acknowledged on subsequent pages. 

I am also under very special obligations to 
Mr. J. F. Jameson, Ph. D., of the Johns Hop- 
kins University, for his careful scrutiny of the 
text, for his abstract of the presidential mes- 
sages, and for the elaborate bibliography which 

is given in the Appendix. 

D. C. G. 



CONTENTS. 

♦ 

PAGE 

Annals op Monroe's Life xi 

CHAPTEE I. 
Student and Soldier ....... i 

CHAPTER II. 
Legislator and Governor of Virginia . . .17 

CHAPTER III. 
Envoy in France . 36 

CHAPTER IV. 
Envoy in France, Spain, and England . . . 74 

CHAPTER V. 
Secretary of State and of War . . . .104 

CHAPTER VI. 
President of the United States .... 125 

CHAPTER VII. 
The Monroe Doctrine . , . . . .156 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Personal Aspect and Domestic Relations . .175 

CHAPTER IX. 
Retrospect. — Reputation 200 



X CONTENTS. 

APPENDIX. 

FAGS 
I. 

The Monroe Genealogy 218 

II. 
Washington's Notes on the Appendix to Mon- 
roe's " View of the Conduct of the Execu- 
tive" 221 

in. 
Synopsis of Monroe's Presidential Messages . 229 

rv. 
Bibliography of Monroe and the Monroe Doc- 
trine 253 



ANNALS OF MONROE'S LIFE. 



BOYHOOD AND MILITARY SERVICE. 

1758. Born in Westmoreland Co., Virginia, April 28. 
1765. Stamp Act passed. 

AGS 

1774. Enters William and Mary College 16 

1776. Declaration of Independence. 

1776. In the Continental Army, — at Haerlem, etc. . . 18 

1777. Aide to Lord Stirling 19 

1778. Returns to Virginia 20 

1780. Military Commissioner from Virginia to the 

Southern army 22 

BEGINNING OF CIVIL SERVICE. — U. S. SENATOR. 

1780. Student of law, under Jefferson 22 

1782. Chosen to the Assembly 24 

1782. Member of the Executive Council 24 

1783. Treaty of Peace with England. 

1783. Member of the Continental Congress (till 1786). 25 

1785. Proposes his Commercial Resolutions 27 

1786. Marries Miss Kortwright of New York, Feb- 

ruary 27 

1786. Practices law in Fredericksburg 28 

1787. Chosen again to the Assembly 29 

1787. Formation of the Constitution. 

1788. Member of the Virginia Convention to ratify the 

Constitution 30 

1790. United States Senator (till 1794) 32 



Xll ANNALS OF MONROE'S LIFE. 



FIRST DIPLOMATIC EXPERIENCE. — GO VERNOR. 

AGE 

1794. Commissioned Minister to France (May 28) . . 36 

1794. Fall of Robespierre, July 28. 

1794. Arrives in Paris (August 2) and is received by 

the National Convention (August 15) ... 36 
1796. Recalled to this country (August 22) 38 

1796. Takes leave of the French Government (Decem- 

ber 30) 38 

1797. Publishes his " View, etc." 39 

1798. Allen and Sedition Acts passed. 

1799. Chosen Governor of Virginia (twice reelected, 

holding office till 1802) 41 

1799. Death of Washington. 
1801. Election of Jefferson. 

SECOND DIPLOMATIC EXPERIENCE. — GOV- 
ERNOR. 

1803. Commissioned Minister to France and to Spain 

(January 11) 44 

1803. Arrives in Paris (April 12) 44 

1803. Commissioned Minister to England (April 18) . . 44 

1S03. Signs the treaty ceding Louisiana (April 30) . . 45 

1803. Leaves Paris (July 12) 45 

1 804. Napoleon becomes Emperor. 

1804. Goes from London to Madrid, to negotiate about 

Florida 46 

1805. Takes leave of the Spanish Court (May 21) . . 47 

1806. Commissioned, with Pinkney, to negotiate a treaty 

with England 47 

1806. Berlin and Milan Decrees. 

1806. Treaty negotiated (December 31) 48 

1807. Leaves England (October 29) 49 

1807. British Orders in Council. 

1808. Addresses Madison on the rejected treaty (Feb- 

ruary 28) 49 



ANNALS OF MONROE'S LIFE. xiii 

AGE 

1810. Chosen the third time to the Assembly .... 52 

1811. Again chosen Governor of Virginia 53 

IN THE CABINET OF MADISON. 

1811. Appointed Secretary of State (till 1817) . ... 53 

1812. Declaration of war against England. 

1814. Appointed Secretary of War (till 1815) .... 56 
1814. Capture of Washington by the British .... 56 
1814. Treaty of Ghent. 

PRESIDENT. 

1817. Inaugurated President (March 4) 58 

1817. Tour to the Eastern States (June 2 to September i 

17) 59 

1819. Cession of Florida 61 

1820. Missouri admitted 61 

1821. Inaugurated President for a second term ... 62 

1822. Independence of Mexico, etc., recognized ... 63 

1823. Enunciation of "the Monroe Doctrine," Message 

of December 2 65 

1824. Reception of Lafayette 66 

OLD AGE. 

1825. Retires from the office of President and from 

public life 66 

1826. Elected a Visitor of the University of Virginia . 67 
1826. Death of Adams and of Jefferson. 

1829. Member of Virginia Constitutional Convention . 71 

1830. Death of Mrs. Monroe. 

1831. Dies in New York (July 4) 73 

1836. Death of Madison. 

1858. Reinterred in Richmond, on the centennial of his 
birth. 



JAMES MONROE. 



CHAPTER I. 

STUDENT AND SOLDIER. 

The name of James Monroe, fifth President 
of the United States, is associated with the chief 
political events in the history of this country 
during a period of somewhat more than fifty 
years. He served with gallantry in the army 
of the Revolution and was high in office dining 
the progress of the second contest with Great 
Britain, and during the Seminole war; he was 
a delegate and a senator in Congress; he was 
called to the chief legislative and executive sta- 
tions in Virginia ; he represented the United 
States in France, Spain, and England ; he was 
a prominent agent in the purchase of Louisiana 
and Florida; he was a member of Madison's 
cabinet, and directed (for a while simultane- 
ously) the departments of State and War ; he 
was twice chosen president, the second time 

with an almost unanimous vote of the electoral 
l 



2 JAMES MONROE. 

college ; his name is given to a political doc- 
trine of fundamental importance ; his adminis- 
tration is known as " the era of good feeling : " 
yet no adequate memoir of his life has been 
written, and while the papers of Washington, 
Adams, Jefferson, and Madison — his four pre- 
decessors in the office of president — have been 
collected and printed in a convenient form, the 
student of Monroe's career must search for the 
data in numerous public documents, and in the 
unassorted files of unpublished correspondence. 
Monroe is not alone among the illustrious 
Virginians whose memoiy it is well to revive. 
Many years ago, St. George Tucker wrote to 
William Wirt, in a half-playful, half-earnest 
tone, that Socrates himself would pass unno- 
ticed and forgotten in Virginia, if he were not 
a public character and some of his speeches 
preserved in a newspaper. " Who knows any- 
thing," he asks, " of Peyton Randolph, once 
the most popular man in Virginia? Who re- 
members Thompson Mason, esteemed the first 
lawyer at the bar ; or his brother George 
Mason, of whom I have heard Mr. Madison say 
that he possessed the greatest talents for de- 
bate of any man he had ever heard speak ? 
What is known of Dabney Carr but that he 
made the motion for appointing committees of 
correspondence in 1773? Virginia has pro- 



STUDENT AND SOLDIER. 3 

duced few men of finer talents, as I have re- 
peatedly beard. I might name a number of 
others," continues Tucker, " highly respected 
and influential men, . . . yet how little is 
known of one half of them at the present 
day ? " Certainly in this second " era of good 
feeling " the impartial study of such lives is a 
most inviting field of biographical research, and 
may especially be commended to advanced stu- 
dents in our universities who can, by careful 
delineations, each of some one career, contrib- 
ute to the general stock of historical knowl- 
edge, and acquire, at the same time, a vivid 
personal interest in the progress of past events. 
I shall not attempt to give in detail the per- 
sonal and domestic history of Monroe, nor can I, 
in the space at command, do justice to his volum- 
inous writings ; but I shall endeavor to show 
what he was in public, how he bore himself 
in the legislative, diplomatic, and administra- 
tive positions to which he was called, and what 
influence he exerted upon the progress of this 
country. It will be necessary for the complete- 
ness of the study to inquire into the early train- 
ing which gave an impulse to his life, and to 
examine, in conclusion, the opinions pronounced 
upon his conduct by those who knew him and 
by those who came after him. Another hand 
will doubtless draw a more elaborate portrait ; 



4 JAMES MONROE. 

I shall only try to give a faithful sketch of an 
honest and patriotic citizen as he discharged 
the duties of exalted stations. 

James Monroe, according to the family tradi- 
tion recorded by his son-in-law, came from a 
family of Scotch cavaliers, descendants of Hec- 
tor Monroe, an officer of Charles I. 1 His parent- 
age on both sides was Virginian. The father 
of James was Spence Monroe, and his mother 
was Eliza Jones, of King George County, a sis- 
ter of Joseph Jones, who was twice sent as a 
delegate from Virginia to the Continental Con- 
gress, and afterwards, in 1789, was appointed 
judge of the district court in the same State. 
Westmoreland County, where the future Presi- 
dent was born, lies on the right bank of the 
Potomac, between that river and the Rappa- 
hannock. It is famous for the fertility of its 
soil, and for the eminent men who have been 
among its inhabitants. Near the head of Mon- 
roe's Creek, which empties into the Potomac, 
James Monroe was born, April 28, 1758. Nc' 
far away, nearer the Potomac, was the birth 
place of George Washington. In the same vi- 
cinity dwelt Richard Henry Lee and his noted 
brothers, and also their famous cousin, Henry 
Lee, known as " Light Horse Harry," whose 

1 See Appendix. 



STUDENT AND SOLDIER. 5 

still more famous son, Robert E. Lee, led the 
Confederate army in the recent war. Here also 
was the early home of Bushrod Washington. 
The birthplace of James Madison was in the 
same peninsula, though not in the same county. 
It is not strange that the enthusiastic antiqua- 
ries, half a century ago, — Martin, Barber, and 
the rest, — should speak of this region as the 
Athens of Virginia, an expression which may 
not be regarded as exact by classical scholars, 
but cannot be called unpatriotic ! The ascend- 
ancy of this region is not without its parallel. 1 
During Monroe's boyhood his neighbors and 
friends were greatly excited by the passage of 
the Stamp Act. In 1766, several of them, in- 
cluding Richard Henry Lee, Spence Monroe, 
and John Monroe, joined in a remonstrance 
against the execution of the act, and in many 

1 A recent writer (Hon. F. J. Kingsbury) on old Connecti- 
cut makes the following remark : "From the earliest settle- 
ment of Connecticut clown to the end of the first quarter of 
the present century, agriculture was the important branch of 
our industry, and land was the source as well as the represen- 
tative of most of our wealth. For two hundred years it is 
safe to say that the good land governed the State. Every- 
where it was only necessary to know the soil in order to know 
also the character of the people. The best soil bore every- 
where the best men and women, and that seed which had been 
winnowed out of the granaries of the old world to plant in the 
new, did not take unkindly to the strong uplands and rich 
bottoms of the great river and i:s tributaries." 



6 JAMES MONROE. 

other ways showed their hostility to the arbi- 
trary rule of the British government. Lee had 
received an academic training about ten years 
before at an academy in Wakefield, Yorkshire, 
and was a correspondent of men of station in 
London. He suggested to his neighbors, in 
1767, that they should subscribe for a portrait 
of Camden, then Lord High Chancellor, as a 
token of their admiration for his opposition to 
the Stamp Act. The amount which they raised, 
£1Q 8s., was sent to Mr. Edmund Jennings, 
Lincoln's Inn, London, with a request that he 
would take the requisite steps to procure the 
portrait. Reynolds was " the limner " selected 
by the Virginians, but Lee did not hesitate to 
give his personal opinion that " Mr. West, 
being an American, ought to be preferred in 
this matter." Lord Camden, wrote Jennings, 
" having appointed several different times for 
Mr. West's attending on him, hath at length, 
it seems, totally forgot his promise. . . . Draw 
for the money, and should his lordship at any 
time recollect his engagement, and be worthy 
of your approbation and honoring, I shall beg the 
gentlemen [of Westmoreland] to accept from 
me his portrait." The Virginians were also 
eager to have a portrait of Lord Chatham, and 
their correspondent, Mr. Jennings, had a fine 
likeness copied and sent to the old Dominion. 



STUDENT AND SOLDIER. 7 

Lee wrote from Chantilly, in 1769, that the gen- 
tlemen of Westmoreland returned their thanks 
" for the very genteel present of Lord Chat- 
ham's picture. It arrived in fine order, and is 
very much admired. They propose to place it 
in the court house, thinking the Assembly may 
furnish themselves with his lordship's picture." 
He adds that his brother, Dr. Lee, can show 
Mr. Jennings " the proceedings of our last As- 
sembly, by which you may judge how bright the 
flame of liberty burns here, and may surely con- 
vince a "tyrannous administration that honesty 
and equity alone can secure the cordiality and 
affection of Virginia." Under influences like 
these the young Monroe was trained in the love 
of civil liberty. Indeed, Bishop Meade declares 
that Virginia had been fighting the battles of 
the Revolution for one hundred and fifty years 
before the Declaration. 1 

The College of William and Mary had been 
in existence, with varying fortunes, not far from 
one hundred and fifteen years, when James 
Monroe entered it as a student, a short time 
before the beginning of the war. Its historian 
claims that it was then the richest college in 
North America, having an annual income of 
X4,000. A scholar cannot read the early ac- 
counts of that venerable foundation, next in age 

1 Old Churches , etc., of Virginia, i. 15. 



8 JAMES MONROE. 

to Harvard, and examine the list of those who 
have been trained for their country's service 
within its walls, without deep regret that the 
fire and the sword have so often interfered with 
its prosperity, or without the wish that restitu- 
tion may be made in full for some of its most 
recent losses. 

When Monroe began his college studies, Wil- 
liamsburg, the strategic point of the peninsula 
between the James and the York, was the seat 
both of the colonial government and of the col- 
lege. Bishop Meade, with conscious exaggera- 
tion, speaks of the capital as a miniature copy 
of the Court of St. James, " while the old 
church and its grave-yard, and the college 
chapel were — si licet cum magnis compoyiere 
parva — the Westminster Abbey and the St. 
Paul's of London, where the great ones were 
interred." 

At the signal of rebellion against the British 
authority, three of the professors and between 
twenty -five and thirty students are said to 
have joined their comrades from Harvard, Yale, 
and Princeton in the military ranks. Among 
the volunteers John Marshall and James Mon- 
roe were found. In allusion to these young 
patriots, Hon. H. B. Grigsby, in his historical 
-discourse on the Virginia Convention of 1776, 
spoke as follows : — 



STUDENT AND SOLDIER. 9 

" I see that generous band of students who at the 
beginning of the Revolution hurriedly cast aside the 
gown and sallied forth to fight the battles of the 
United Colonies, . . . and when the struggle was 
past I see two tall and gallant youths, who had been 
classmates in early youth, and whose valor had shone 
on many a field, enter their names on your lists and, 
after an abode beneath your roof, depart once more 
to serve their country in the Senate and in the most 
celebrated courts of Europe, crowning their past ca- 
reer by filling, one the chief magistracy of the Union, 
the other the highest of the federal judiciary." 

It is also worthy to be mentioned here, that 
the Phi Beta Kappa Society, whose chapters 
have been established in so many colleges, was 
formed at William and Mary, December 5, 
1776. The first meeting, we are told, was held 
in the Apollo Hall of the old Raleigh tavern, a 
room in which the burning words of Henry 
had been heard. In the printed list of orig- 
inal members the names of John Marshall and 
Bushrod Washington appear, but I do not find 
James Monroe's. 1 

The public career of James Monroe began in 
1776 with his joining the continental army at 
the headquarters of Washington near New York, 
as a lieutenant in the third Virginian regiment 
under Colonel Hugh Mercer. He was with the 

1 See the History of the College of William and Mary, 1874. 



10 JAMES MONROE. 

troops at Haerlem (September 16), and at White 
Plains (October 28), and at Trenton, where he 
received an honorable wound (December 26). 
His part in the last mentioned engagement is 
described by General Wilkinson in his printed 
memoirs, and with slightly different language 
in a manuscript preserved in the Gouverneur 
papers. From this statement it appears that, 
as the British were forming in the main street 
of Trenton, the advanced guard of the Amer- 
ican left was led by Captain William Wash- 
ington and Lieutenant James Monroe. The 
British were driven back and two pieces of 
artillery were captured. Captain Washington 
was wounded through the wrist, and Lieuten- 
ant Monroe through the shoulder. " These par- 
ticular acts of gallantry," says the narrative, 
" have never been rfoticed, yet they cannot be 
too highly appreciated, since to them may, in 
a great measure, be ascribed the facility of our 
success." 

During the campaigns of 1777-78 Monroe 
served as a volunteer aid, and with the rank of 
major, on the staff of the Earl of Stirling, and 
took part in the battles of Brandy wine (Sep- 
tember 11), Germantown (October 4), and 
Monmouth (June 28). 1 His temporary promo- 

1 He is said to have been with Lafayette when the latter was 
wounded. 



STUDENT AND SOLDIER. H 

tion appears to have been an obstacle to his 
permanent preferment, for by it he lost his 
place in the continental line. Strong influ- 
ences were brought to bear in Virginia to se- 
cure for him some suitable position in the 
forces of that State. Lord Stirling gave him 
testimonials, and the Commander-in-Chief 
wrote a long letter, — addressed to Archibald 
Cary, and doubtless intended for other eyes, 
— rehearsing in terms of careful commendation 
the merits of young Monroe. These are the 
words of Washington : — 

" The zeal he discovered by entering the service at 
an early period, the character he supported in his 
regiment, and the manner in which he received a 
wound, induced me to appoint him to a captaincy in 
one of the additional regiments. This regiment fail- 
ing, from the difficulty of recruiting, he entered into 
Lord Stirling's family and has served two campaigns 
as a volunteer aid to his lordship. He has in every 
instance maintained the reputation of a brave, active, 
and sensible officer. As we cannot introduce him into 
the continental line, it were to be wished that the 
State could do something for him." 

But even the possession of a good record, and 
the encouragement of Washington, with the in- 
dorsements of Lord Stirling and the patronage 
of Jefferson, could not effect everything. Mr. 
Adams says the exhausted state of the country 



12 JAMES MONROE. 

prevented the raising of a new regiment, and 
the active military services of Monroe were 
afterwards restricted to occasional duties as a 
volunteer in defence of the State against the 
distressing invasions with which it was visited. 
Once, after the fall of Charleston, S. C, in 
1780, according to the same writer, he repaired, 
at the request of Governor Jefferson, as a mili- 
tary commissioner to collect and report informa- 
tion with regard to the condition and prospects 
of the Southern army, — a trust which he dis- 
charged to the satisfaction of the authorities. 1 
He thus attained to the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel, and here his military services were in- 
terrupted. 

It is not surprising to discover that the young 
officer, who had quickly attained distinction, 
was paralyzed by inactivity. " Till lately," he 
writes to Lord Stirling in September, 1782, 
apologizing for a long epistolary silence, " I 
have been a recluse. Chagrined with my dis- 
appointment in not attaining the rank and 
command I sought, chagrined with some disap- 
pointments in a private line, I retired from soci- 
etv with almost a resolution never to return to 



it again. 



>j 



In this state of mind he thought of going 
abroad, and Jefferson wrote a letter introducing 
1 Eulogy by J. Q. Adams. 



STUDENT AND SOLDIER. 13 

him to Franklin, then resident in Paris. After- 
wards, like many others in adversity, he sought 
solace in books, and recurred to the studies 
which had been interrupted by the breaking out 
of the war. There is still extant an interesting 
letter addressed to Monroe, in the time of his 
despondency, by Judge Jones, whose name has 
already been mentioned. It is the earliest I 
have seen in a long series — preserved anions: 
the Gouverneur manuscripts — combining the 
shrewd remarks upon political affairs of a man 
in public life, with the confidential sugges- 
tions of an uncle to the nephew whom he was 
watching with almost paternal affection. It is 
much to be desired that the letters of Monroe, at 
this period, should be recovered, — but even 
without them we may learn, by reflection from 
the correspondence of the judge, much which 
was passing in the young man's mind. Mon- 
roe had consulted his uncle as to whether it 
would be best for him to follow the lectures 
on law to be given by Mr. Wythe, in the col- 
lege at Williamsburg, or to follow the fortunes 
of Mr. Jefferson, then governor, at Richmond. 
The advice which was given betrays the sagac- 
ity of the counsellor. 



14 JAMES MONROE. 

JOSEPH JONES TO JAMES MONROE, MARCH 7, 1780. 

" This post will bring you a letter from me, account- 
ing for your not hearing sooner what had been done 
in your affairs. If your overseer sends up before 
next post-day you shall hear the particulars. Charles 
Lewis, going down to the college, gives me an oppor- 
tunity of answering, by him, your inquiry respecting 
your removal with the Governor, or attending Mr. 
Wythe's lectures. If Mr. Wythe means to pursue 
Mr. Blackstone's method I should think you ought 
to attend him from the commencement of his course, 
if at all, and to judge of this, for want of proper in- 
formation, is difficult ; indeed I incline to think Mr. 
Wythe, under the present state of our laws, will be 
much embarrassed to deliver lectures with that per- 
spicuity and precision which might be expected from 
him under a more established and settled state of 
them. The undertaking is arduous and the subject 
intricate at the best, but is rendered much more so 
from the circumstances of the country and the im- 
perfect system now in use, inconsistent in some in- 
stances with the principles of the Constitution of the 
national government. Should the revision be passed 
the next session, it would, I think, lighten his labors 
and render them more useful to the student ; other- 
wise he will be obliged to pursue the science under 
the old form, pointing out in his course the inconsis- 
tency with the present established government and 
the proposed alterations. Whichever method he may 
like, or whatever plan he may lay down to govern 



STUDENT AND SOLDIER. 15 

him, I doubt not it will be executed with credit to 
himself and satisfaction and benefit to his auditors. 
The Governor need not fear the favor of the commu- 
nity as to his future appointment, while he continues 
to make the common good his study. I have no in- 
timate acquaintance with Mr. Jefferson, but from the 
knowledge I have of him, he is in my opinion as 
proper a man as can be put into the office, having 
the requisites of ability, firmness, and diligence. You 
do well to cultivate his friendship, and cannot fail to 
entertain a grateful sense of the favors he has con- 
ferred upon you, and while you continue to deserve 
his esteem he will not withdraw his countenance. If, 
therefore, upon conferring with him upon the subject 
he wishes or shows a desire that you go with him, I 
would gratify him. Should you remain to attend 
Mr. Wythe, I would do it with his approbation, and 
under the expectation that when you come to Rich- 
mond you shall hope for the continuance of his friend- 
ship and assistance. There is likelihood the cam- 
paign will this year be to the South, and in the course 
of it events may require the exertions of the militia of 
this State ; in which case, should a considerable body 
be called for, I hope Mr. Jefferson will head them 
himself ; and you no doubt will be ready cheerfully 
to give him your company and assistance, as well to 
make some return of civility to him as to satisfy 
your own feelings for the common good." 

No one will be surprised to find that under 
such circumstances, and with such advice, the 



16 JAMES MONROE. 

young aspirant became attached to the Gov- 
ernor. He writes to Lord Stirling, in the let- 
ter already quoted, " I submitted the direction 
of my time and plan to my friend Mr. Jeffer- 
son, one of our wisest and most virtuous repub- 
licans, and aided by his advice I have hitherto, 
of late, lived." 

I am strongly inclined to believe that the in- 
timacy with Jefferson, the early stages of which 
are here described, was the key to Monroe's po- 
litical career. On many subsequent occasions 
the support and counsel of the older statesman 
had a marked influence upon the life of the 
younger. Their friendship continued till it was 
broken by Jefferson's death. Fifty years after 
the incidents here narrated the teacher and the 
pupil, having both served in the office of Presi- 
dent, were associated with a third ex-President, 
the life-long friend of both, in the control of 
the University of Virginia, and repeatedly met 
in council at Charlottesville. 



CHAPTER II. 

LEGISLATOR AND GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA. 

Monroe was called into service as a legis- 
lator at a very early period of his life. If 
his public career had been restricted to such 
opportunities of influence he would have been 
conspicuous among the statesmen of Virginia. 
He was first a delegate to the Assembly and 
a member of the executive council ; he went 
to the fourth, fifth, and sixth Congresses of 
the Confederation ; for a second time he was re- 
turned to the Assembly ; he was a member of 
the convention in Virginia which adopted the 
United States Constitution ; he was a senator 
of the United States before his diplomatic ser- 
vice began ; and after long interruptions, and 
the attainment of national eminence, his pres- 
ence gave dignity to the convention which 
adopted the Constitution of 1830, though age 
and infirmities precluded an active participation 
in the proceedings. Eleven years of his early 
life were nearly all devoted to legislative work, 
but so far as this related to the affairs of Vir- 
ginia I do not discover any traces of notewor- 

2 



18 JAMES MONROE. 

thy influence. A letter of his to Jefferson 
(in 1782), when the latter in an aggrieved 
mood was absenting himself from the House 
of Delegates, has been printed, and the reply 
which it drew forth. 1 The plainness of Mon- 
roe's words and the frankness of the reply 
which he received, indicate a continuance of 
the intimacy already referred to. It was like- 
wise to Monroe that Jefferson wrote, three 
years later, from Paris, explaining why he did 
not publish his printed notes on Virginia: "I 
fear the terms in which I speak of slavery and 
of our Constitution will do more harm than 
good; " and again, "I sincerely wish you may 
find it convenient to come here ; the pleasure 
of the trip will be less than you expect, but the 
utility greater. It will make you adore your 
own country, its soil, its climate, its equality, 
libert}^, laws, people, and manners." 

On the other hand, as a delegate in Congress 
Monroe was conspicuous, and the record of his 
service is closely involved with those important 
discussions which revealed the imperfection of 
the Confederation. His term of service ex- 
tended from 1783 to 1786, and he attended the 
sessions which were held in Annapolis, — where 
he saw Washington resign his commission, — 
Trenton, and New York. Daring this period 

i Jefferson's Works, i. 316. Randall's Jefferson, i. 413. 



LEGISLATOR AND GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA. 19 

he corresponded intimately (sometimes using a 
cipher) with Joseph Jones, Madison, and Jeffer- 
son, and a large part of his letters are still ex- 
tant, with many of the answers. 

Soon after the war it became evident that the 
powers of the Confederation were quite inade- 
quate for the proper regulation of commerce, 
and Congress, as well as the public men who 
were not in Congress, was seriously engaged in 
searching for the requisite remedy. Monroe 
took a prominent part in the discussions, and 
the noteworthy motion which he made upon 
the subject was referred to a special commit- 
tee, who reported a recommendation, that the 
ninth of the articles of confederation be so al- 
tered as to secure to Congress the power to 
regulate commerce, with the assent of nine 
States in Congress assembled. 1 

He favored a regulation that all imposts 
should be collected under the authority and 
accrue to the use of the State in which the 
same might be payable. The report embodying 
this proviso was read in Congress March 28, 
1785, and the copy of it preserved in the pub- 
lic archives has a few corrections in Monroe's 

1 This subject has been carefully studied by Mr. Bancroft, 
and presented in his new volumes with so much fulness that 
I can only follow his guidance. See his Hist, of the (J. S. 
Const, i. 192-196. Cf. Sparks, Washington, ix. 503-507. 



20 JAMES MONROE. 

handwriting. Many interesting papers are ex- 
tant which bear upon this question, — among 
them a letter from James McHenry to Wash- 
ington, and the latter's reply. The Virginia 
Assembly also engaged in the discussion of a 
series of propositions which tended in the same 
direction. On April 12 Monroe wrote to Jef- 
ferson, sending him the committee's report, 
and saying that he thinks it best to postpone 
action on it for a time. " It hath been brought 
so far," he adds, " without a prejudice against 
it. If carried farther here, prejudices will take 
place." He thinks it better that the States 
should act separately upon the measure. A 
few weeks later he wrote again to Jefferson as 
follows : " The report upon the ninth article 
hath not been taken up ; the importance of the 
subject and the deep and radical change it will 
create in the bond of the union, together with 
the conviction that something must be done, 
seems to create an aversion or rather a fear 
of acting on it." Then, as if he foresaw the 
coming concentration of powers in the general 
government, he expresses a belief that the 
proposed change, if adopted, will certainly in- 
troduce " the most permanent and powerful 
principle in the Confederation." 1 A month 
later (July 15) Jefferson was again told how 
1 Bancroft, Hist, of the U. S. Const, i. 450-455. 



LEGISLATOR AND GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA. 21 

the debate went forward. " In my opinion," says 
Monroe, " the reasons in favor of changing the 
ninth article are conclusive, but the opposition 
is respectable in point of numbers as well as 
talents. What will be done is uncertain." To 
Madison he afterwards writes, summing up 
quite carefully the arguments on both sides. 
December came and Congress did not act. 
" The advocates for the measure will scarcely 
succeed," said Randolph to Washington, " so 
strong are the apprehensions in some minds of 
an abuse of the power." At the end of the 
month, Monroe, still sure of the necessity of 
committing to the United States the power of 
regulating trade, wrote once more to Madison. 
In February the prospect was no better. In 
May there was a gleam of light. The plan 
of a convention at Annapolis (which in March 
Monroe himself had not favored) had taken 
the subject from before Congress. " As it orig- 
inated with our State," he writes, " we think 
it our duty to promote its object by all the 
means in our power. Of its success I must 
confess I have some hope. . . . Truth and 
sound state policy in every instance will urge 
the commission of the power to the United 
States." Thus it was that Congress by its 
own lack of power was led to the convention 
which formed the Constitution, and, in a far 



22 JAMES MONROE. 

wiser manner than that originally suggested, 
provided for the regulation of trade. But in 
August Monroe was despondent. " Our affairs," 
he writes, " are daily falling into a worse situ- 
ation ; " there is a party, he says, ready to dis- 
member the confederacy and throw the States 
eastward of the Hudson into one government. 
He urges Madison to use his utmost exertions 
in the convention to obtain good as well as to 
prevent mischief, and adds to his appeal this 
pregnant postscript : " I have always consid- 
ered the regulation of trade in the hands of 
the United States as necessary to preserve the 
Union ; without it, it will infallibly tumble 
to pieces; but I earnestly wish the admission 
of a few additional States into the confederacy 
in the Southern scale." The question, it is 
well known, was finally settled in the conven- 
tion at Philadelphia, Delaware and South Car- 
olina voting with the North against Maryland, 
Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. 1 

In March, 1784, Monroe, with Jefferson, 
Hardy, and A. Lee, delivered to Congress a deed 
which ceded to the United States Virginia's 
claims to the northwest territory, and thence- 
forward the government of that region con- 
tinued to be one of the subjects in which he 
took most interest. During the summer recess 

i Bancroft, ii. 162. 



LEGISLATOR AND GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA. 23 

of Congress he made an extended tour of obser- 
vation. To Jefferson, July 20, he wrote as fol- 
lows : " The day after to-morrow I set out upon 
the route through the western country. I have 
changed the direction and shall commence for 
the westward upon the North River by Albany. 
I shall pass through the lakes, visit the posts, 
and come down to the Ohio and thence home." 
Thus he hopes "to acquire a better knowledge 
of the posts which we should occupy, the cause 
of the delay of the evacuation by British troops, 
the temper of the Indians toward us, — as well 
as of the soil, waters, and in general the natural 
view of the country." He wrote to Governor 
Harrison as to what had taken place in Canada ; 
and to Madison, November 15, on the impor- 
tance of garrisoning the western forts, about to 
be given up by the British. On December 2 
John Marshall congratulated him on " a safe 
return to the Atlantic part of the world." 

Some months later, when a conference was to 
be held at the mouth of the Great Miami with 
the Shawnees, Monroe again went beyond the 
Alleghanies, as far as Fort Pitt, and began the 
descent of the Ohio, but abandoned the expe- 
dition on account of the low state of the water, 
and returned to Richmond. These two jour- 
neys had a marked influence upon his action 
in Congress, as the careful narrative of Ban- 



24 - JAMES MONROE. 

croft, already repeatedly quoted, shows most 
clearly. On the motion of Monroe a grand 
committee was appointed by Congress to con- 
sider the division of the western territory, and 
their report was presented March 24. A little 
later, another committee, of which Monroe was 
chairman, was appointed to consider and report 
a form of temporary government for the Wes- 
tern States. His report, which said nothing of 
slavery, failed of adoption. A year later a new 
committee prepared a new ordinance, which 
embodied the best parts of the work of their 
predecessors. I will give the rest of the story 
in Bancroft's own language : — 

" The ordinance contained no allusion to slavery ; 
and in that form it received its first reading and was 
ordered to be printed. Grayson, then presiding offi- 
cer of Congress, had always opposed slavery. Two 
years before he had wished success to the attempt of 
King for its restriction; and everything points to 
him as the immediate cause of the tranquil spirit of 
disinterested statesmanship which took possession of 
every Southern man in the assembly. Of the mem- 
bers of Virginia, Richard Henry Lee had stood 
against Jefferson on this very question ; but now he 
acted with Grayson, and from the States of which no 
man had yielded before, every one chose the part 
which was to bring on their memory the benedictions 
of all coming ages. Obeying an intimation from the 



LEGISLATOR AND GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA. 25 

South, Nathan Dane copied from Jefferson the pro- 
hibition of involuntary servitude in the territory, and 
quieted alarm by adding from the report of King a 
clause for the delivering up of the fugitive slave. 
This, at the second reading of the ordinance, he 
moved as a sixth article of compact, and on the thir- 
teenth day of July, 1787, the great statute forbidding 
slavery to cross the river Ohio was passed by the 
vote of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, 
Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and 
Massachusetts, all the States that were then present 
in Congress. Pennsylvania and three States of New 
England were absent ; Maryland only of the South." 

At the next Assembly in Virginia, a commit- 
tee of which Monroe was a member " brought 
forward the bill by which Virginia confirmed 
the ordinance for the colonization of all the ter- 
ritory then in the possession of the United 
States by freemen alone." 

Among other subjects in which Monroe took 
a deep interest while a delegate in Congress, the 
navigation of the Mississippi was prominent. 
The treaty with Great Britain had stipulated 
that this river from its source to its mouth 
should be open to the subjects of Great Britain 
and the citizens of the United States. Spain 
objected. Some parties were ready to surrender 
this right, but among those who persistently 
refused to do so were the Virginia delegates, 



26 JAMES MONROE. 

including Monroe, who wrote a memoir in 
1786 to prove the right of the inhabitants of 
the western country to a free navigation of 
the Mississippi. Positive action was postponed 
until the new government was about to be or- 
ganized, and Congress then declared its opinion 
in clear and bold terms. It was due to the 
foresight and firmness of a few strong men that 
the claims of Spain were not acknowledged, 
and that the acquisition of the territory in- 
volved was finally completed after Monroe be- 
came president. 

Near the end of the year 1784 Monroe was 
selected as one of nine judges to decide the 
boundary dispute in which Massachusetts and 
New York were involved, and after some delib- 
eration he accepted the position ; but the case 
being postponed, he resigned and another com- 
missioner was chosen. The court, it is said, 
never met ; but Monroe's relation to the mat- 
ter has b&en the subject of comment. Mr. 
Adams gives this statement in respect to it : — 
that Monroe had been conspicuous above all 
others in proceedings which concerned the navi- 
gation of the Mississippi, and had taken the lead 
in opposition to Jay, who proposed a compro- 
mise with Spain ; and that it was in the heat 
of temper kindled by this discord that Monroe 
resigned his commission. 1 

1 J. Q. Adams, Eulogy, pp. 225-232. 



LEGISLATOR AND GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA. 27 

In the Virginia convention of 1788, the 
party favoring the United States Constitution 
was led by Madison, Marshall, and Edmund 
Randolph. The leader of the opposition was 
Patrick Henry, and James Monroe stood by his 
side in company with W. Grayson and G. Ma- 
son. Two of his speeches as reported in the 
Debates are worthy of mention here. 1 In the 
first of them, delivered June 10, he made an 
elaborate historical argument in which the 
experience of the Amphictyonic council, the 
Achaean league, the Germanic system, the Swiss 
cantons, and the New England confederacy were 
successively referred to, — a theme which seems 
to have been the germ of a posthumous publica- 
tion, to which reference will hereafter be made. 
He assumes the value of the Union, to which 
" the people from New Hampshire to Georgia, 
Rhode Island excepted, have uniformly shown 
attachment." Examining the proposed Consti- 
tution, he claims that there are no adequate 
checks upon the exercise of power ; he foresees 
conflict between the national and state author- 
ities. As for the President, he foresees that 
" whence he is once elected he may be elected 
forever." 

In closing the speech he says that he regards 

1 Debates of the Convention of Virginia, 1788, reported by- 
David Robertson, p. 154. 



28 JAMES MONROE. 

the proposed government as dangerous, and 
calculated to secure neither the interests nor 
the rights of our countrymen. " Under such 
an one I shall be averse to embark the best 
hopes of a free people. We have struggled 
long to bring about this revolution by which we 
enjoy our present freedom and security. Why 
then this haste, this wild precipitation ? " 

At a later stage Monroe explained the Con- 
gressional disputes about the Mississippi, the 
purport of which was to show that the western 
country would be less secure under the Consti- 
tution than it was under the Confederation. 
He finally assented to a ratification of the Con- 
stitution by Virginia upon the condition that 
her amendments should be accepted. Many 
years later he thus, in a letter to Andrew Jack- 
son, gave his recollections of the monarchical 
tendencies which were shown by his contempo- 
raries before and after the adoption of the Con- 
stitution. He writes as follows : — 

December ; 1816. " We have heretofore been di- 
vided into two great parties. That some of the lead- 
ers of the Federal party entertained principles un- 
friendly to our system of government, I have been 
thoroughly convinced ; and that they meant to work 
a change in it by taking advantage of favorable cir- 
cumstances, I am equally satisfied. It happened that 
I was a member of Congress under the confedera- 



LEGISLATOR AND GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA. 29 

tion, just before the change made by the adoption of 
the present Constitution, and afterwards of the Sen- 
ate, beginning shortly after its adoption. In the 
former I served three years, and in the latter rather 
a longer term. In these stations I saw indications 
of the kind suggested. It was an epoch at which 
the views of men were most likely to unfold them- 
selves, as, if anything favorable to a higher toned 
government was to be obtained, that was the time. 
The movement in France tended, also, then, to test 
the opinions and principles of men, which was dis- 
closed in a manner to leave no doubt on my mind of 
what I have suggested. No daring attempt was ever 
made, because there was no opportunity for it. I 
thought that Washington was opposed to their 
schemes, and not being able to take him with them, 
that they were forced to work, in regard to him, un- 
der-handed, using his name and standing with the 
nation, as far as circumstances permitted, to serve 
their purposes. The opposition, which was carried 
on with great firmness, checked the career of this 
party, and kept it within moderate limits. Many of 
the circumstances on which my opinion is founded 
took place in debate and in society, and therefore 
find no place in any public document. I am satisfied, 
however, that sufficient proof exists, founded on facts 
and opinions of distinguished individuals, which be- 
came public, to justify that which I had formed. . . . 
" My candid opinion is that the dangerous purposes 
I have adverted to were never adopted, if they were 
known, especially in their full extent, by any large 



30 JAMES MONROE. 

portion of the Federal party, but were confined to 
certain leaders, and they principally to the eastward. 
The manly and patriotic conduct of a great propor- 
tion of that party in the other States, I might, per- 
haps, say all who had an opportunity of displaying it, 
is a convincing proof of this fact." 

Jefferson, referring to the same period, spoke 
as follows in the introduction to his "Ana:" 
" The contests of that day were contests of 
principle between the advocates of republican 
and those of kingly government." 

Notwithstanding Monroe's opposition to the 
adoption of the new Constitution he was among 
the earliest to take office under it. The first 
choice of Virginia for senators fell on Richard 
Henry Lee and William Grayson. The latter 
died soon after his appointment, and Monroe 
was selected bv the Legislature to fill the va- 
cant place, instead of John Walker, who had 
been chosen by the Executive of the State. 
He took his seat in the Senate December 6, 
1790, and held the position until May, 1794. 
It does not appear that he was conspicuous as 
a debater ; but he made himself felt in other 
ways, and was regarded as among the most de- 
cided opponents of Washington's administra- 
tion. He was particularly hostile to Hamilton, 
and on one occasion, when the latter was talked 



LEGISLATOR AND GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA. 31 

about as likely to be sent to England, trans- 
gressed the limits of senatorial courtesy by ad- 
dressing a letter to the President with intima- 
tions of what he could say if an opportunity 
were afforded him. He was opposed to the 
measures which were carried for establishing 
on a sound basis the national finances. He pro- 
posed a suspension of the fourth article of the 
definitive treaty with Great Britain until that 
power complied with her stipulations. He 
strongly objected to the selection of Morris 
and Jay as ministers respectively to France 
and England. Indeed, during all this period 
he appears in the part of one who doubted the 
wisdom of the dominant views in respect to 
the new order of government, and who did not 
hesitate to put obstacles in the way of those 
who were endeavoring to give dignity and force 
to the new United States. He was therefore 
surprised, and so were many others, that he 
was selected while still a senator to be the 
successor of Gouverneur Morris as minister to 
Fiance. He had objected to Jay's appointment 
partly on the ground that such an office should 
not be given to one of the federal judiciary, and 
the wiseacres were not slow to taunt him for 
accepting, in place of his senatorial rank, the 
dignity of a diplomatic station. The rest of this 
story will be told in the following chapter. 



32 JAMES MONROE. 

Although it is not next in order, it is con- 
venient to place here the little which is to be 
said of the executive station to which Mon- 
roe, on his return from diplomatic services, was 
twice called in his native State. He was first 
chosen governor of Virginia in 1799 (after his 
recall from France), and served for a period of 
three years. He was again chosen in 1811, 
held the office for part of a year, and gave it 
up in order to enter the cabinet of Madison. 
His first election was opposed by John Breck- 
enridge, who received 66 votes, while Monroe 
received 101. The Richmond " Federalist " of 
December 7 declared the day before to be "a 
day of mourning." Virginia's " misfortunes 
may be comprised in one short sentence, Mon- 
roe is elected governor ! " 

During his first administration a conspiracy 
among the slaves was brought to light, and was 
suppressed by his power as governor. The in- 
cident has recently been called to mind by a 
widely read novel in which there is a graphic 
picture of a servile insurrection and its timely 
discovery. 1 Howison's story is as follows. 2 Not 
far from Richmond dwelt Thomas Prosser, who 
owned a number of slaves, among them one 
who became known as " General Gabriel," a 

1 Homoselle, by Mrs. Tievnan. 

2 Howison, History of Virginia, p. 390. 



LEGISLATOR AND GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA. 33 

man " distinguished for his intelligence and his 
influence with his class." Near by lived another 
slave called " Jack Bowler." By their agency 
nearly a thousand slaves, it was supposed, were 
secretly enlisted in a plot to attack Richmond 
by night and there begin a war of extermina- 
tion against the whites. Just before the pro- 
posed assault a slave named " Pharaoh " es- 
caped from the conspirators during a storm and 
revealed the project to the people of Richmond. 
The tidings were carried to Governor Monroe, 
the alarm was given, the militia called out, and 
preparations were made to meet the assailants. 
The streams were so swollen by the fall of rain 
that the movements of the insurgents were de- 
layed, and they soon perceived that their secret 
had been discovered., The ringleaders were sub- 
sequently found and punished ; and so many 
others, that a reaction took place in public feel- 
ing, and a merciful arrest of justice occurred 
before all the guilty had been reached. 

For several years, after 1806, John Randolph 
was a frequent correspondent of Monroe. He 
urges him to come back from England ; he 
guards him against compromitment to men in 
whom he cannot wholly confide ; he gives him 
a dark hint of " the sta^e effect " he will be 
made to produce ; he flatters him with expecta- 



34 JAMES MONROE. 

tions of the next nomination to the presidency; 
he disparages Madison ; he says that Monroe 
will hardly know the country when he arrives ; 
"intrigue has arrived at a pitcli which I hardly 
supposed it would have reached in five cent- 
uries ; " kt life has afforded me few enjoyments 
which I value in comparison with your friend- 
ship." These flattering words, tempered with 
insinuations against Madison, were addressed to 
Monroe in the belief and wish that he could 
be brought forward as a candidate for the presi- 
dency at the close of Jefferson's term. Ran- 
dolph's purpose failed, Madison became presi- 
dent and Monroe governor (after brief service 
in the Assembly). A little later Randolph 
quarrelled with Monroe, because, as he thought, 
the latter was inclined to repudiate the views 
he had held on his return from England. He 
charged him with tergiversation in order to be- 
come chief magistrate of the Commonwealth. 
The climax of their disagreement was reached 
when Monroe was called to the cabinet of 
Madison. 

Many years later (in 1814) Randolph, still 
quarrelsome, attacked Monroe's conscription 
project by pointing out the course of the latter 
in respect to Federal usurpation when he was 
governor, charging upon him the fact that the 



LEGISLATOR AND GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA. 35 

grand armory at Richmond was built to enable 
Virginia to resist encroachment upon her indis- 
putable rights. 1 

1 For all this story in detail, and many original letters, see 
the life of John Randolph by Henry Adams. 



CHAPTER III. 

ENVOY IN FRANCE. 

Monroe's career as a diplomatist exhibits 
first the misfortune and then the good fortune 
which may attend ministerial action in a foreign 
land, when long periods must elapse before let- 
ters can be interchanged with the government 
at home. In critical junctures responsibility 
must be assumed by the representative of a na- 
tion, who runs the risk that his words and 
actions, however wise and necessary they ap- 
pear to him, will not be approved by those 
who sent him abroad. In quiet days a foreign 
embassy is an enviable position, but Monroe 
was neither the first envoy nor the last who has 
found in troublesome times that it is difficult to 
act with a near-sighted view of the field so as 
to keep the support of those who are far-sighted. 
His first mission to France began brilliantly 
and ended with an irritation of his spirit which 
he carried with him, like the bullet received 
at Trenton, to the very end of his life; his sec- 
ond mission to France, undertaken with some 
distrust, led to a fortunate negotiation which 
brightened all his subsequent days. 



ENVOY IN FRANCE 37 

While a senator in Congress, Monroe was se- 
lected, as we have seen, to represent the United 
States in Paris, after it became necessary for 
Gouverneur Morris to give way. Washington's 
first choice for the position was Thomas Pinck- 
ney, whom he would have transferred from 
England to France if Jay had consented to re- 
main the minister in England. As this project 
was not successful, the appointment was offered 
to Robert R. Livingston, who did not accept 
it. A few weeks later (May 28, 1794) Monroe 
was commissioned. He was far from agreeing 
with the administration, — as was perfectly well 
known ; but he held such opinions in respect 
to the French that a favorable reception for 
him might reasonably be expected. Washing- 
ton's position was one of much responsibility. 
There was great danger that the United States, 
scarcely beginning to recover from the revolu- 
tionary struggle, and with the experiment of 
the Constitution not yet five years old, would 
be involved in war with France or England in 
consequence of their unjustifiable reprisals and 
their attitude in respect to the commerce of neu- 
trals. It was most important for the safety of 
the Union as well as for the prosperity of the 
people that war should be averted, and much 
appeared to depend upon the envoys. So Jay 
was sent to England and Monroe to France. 



38 JAMES MONROE. 

Looking back on these appointments, nearly 
forty years afterwards, John Quincy Adams 
declared them to be among the most memo- 
rable events in the history of this Union. To 
understand this in our day, we must remember 
the bitter relations, " tinged with infusions of 
the wormwood and the gall," which then di- 
vided France and England ; and the partisan 
feelings which already separated Republicans 
from Federalists. 

The state of feeling in Congress prior to 
Monroe's mission is familiar enough to all his- 
torical readers ; but I have before me a long 
file of letters which have never been made pub- 
lic, exhibiting in the intimacy of fraternal corre- 
spondence the current of opinion in Congress ; 
— and I make from them the following ex- 
tracts to give a fresh and original record of a 
tale which has often been told : 1 — 

January, 1794. — I think we are in no danger of 
being drawn into the European war unless the 
French should be mad enough to declare war against 
everybody that will not fraternize with them. 

January, 1794. — It may, I believe, fairly be pre- 
sumed that we shall not get into a wrangle with the 
French nation. 

1 These extracts are from letters by Joshua Coit of New 
London, Conn., a representative in Congress, to his brother, 
Daniel L. Coit. 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 39 

January 25, 1794. — We have announced to us in 
a letter from the President this day, that he has 
from the French Court assurances that M. Genet's 
conduct here has met with unequivocal disapproba- 
tion, and that his recall will be expected as soon as 
possible. I give it you nearly in the words of his 
letter. Why he has not before made the communi- 
cation as it arrived by the Dispatch (a sloop of about 
thirty tons) last week ; whether he has letters from 
the French ministry or only from Mr. Morris, — I 
am without information. 

January 31, 1794. — A strange portion \_sic~] of 
French frenzy is working in this country. We see 
much of it in Congress, principally among the South- 
ern members. It enters, as you will see, into the 
debates on Mr. Madison's propositions. I have men- 
tioned it to you, I believe, in a former letter. One 
would have expected from these owners of slaves 
and men of large fortunes a different complexion ; 
but our rankest democratical principle is all from 
the South, and they consider us New England men 
as aristocrats. I feel more apprehension of the gen- 
eral government being too weak than that it will 
gather a strength dangerous to the liberties of the 
people. I would hope, however, that no more of 
party is mixed in our composition than maybe whole- 
some. Mr. M.'s resolutions have now been under 
discussion for about a fortnight. Gentlemen take an 
amazing latitude in their discussions, and from the 
debates one would be led to suppose we were forming 
commercial treaties that were to embrace all the in- 



40 JAMES MONROE. 

terests of the United States. The first resolution is 
a mighty vague, general thing, and will apply to any 
alteration of our revenue system almost; perhaps 
this may be carried, but I think the others or any- 
thing like them cannot ; they have engrossed all the 
time of Congress for this fortnight past. 

February 15, 1794. — The fact is, I think, every 
day more and more evinced, that some of our South- 
ern gentlemen, Virginians especially, have a most un- 
conquerable aversion for the British nation, and 
partiality for France. The debts due from that 
country to G. B. may have their effect in fomenting 
and keeping up their animosity, and they seem to 
wish to fix some immovable obstructions to a friend- 
ly intercourse between the two countries, and there 
is but too much reason to fear that the measures 
they pursue are in good degree influenced by their 
dissatisfaction at some steps that have been taken 
since the establishment of the present government, — 
the funding system and bank especially. They pro- 
fess peace — that energetic measures are those only 
by which it can be preserved. Britain is to be so 
afflicted with our non-importation agreement that, to 
persuade us to give it up, she is to do everything which 
we may demand of her ; and if, on the contrary, she 
is disposed to fight she is exhausted and weakened 
by the w^ar in which she is now engaged, and with 
the help of France we shall give her the worst of it. 
I still hope peace ; but if this measure is carried 
through, I shall then despair. 

March 7, 1794. — The measures you mention are 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 41 

regarded as very extraordinary ; equally so is that of 
the French detaining our ships in their ports. 'T is 
perhaps fortunate for us that we are ill-treated by 
both the belligerent powers; experiencing no favor 
from either, we shall be less an object of jealousy 
from either, and probably less in danger of rushing 
into the war than if we were ill-treated by one only. 
I believe we had better suffer almost anything than 
get into the war. Time and patience will, I hope, 
cure all. 

March 13, 1794. — It seems to me the British 
nation must contemplate some inconvenience in the 
loss of our trade in case of a rupture, and that the 
fair and honorable neutrality we have preferred 
should command their respect. But they apprehend 
we feel a partiality for the French, and nations at 
war very readily regard as enemies those who are not 
their friends, and they very naturally contemplate 
the going to war with another nation with much less 
reluctance than changing from peace to war. No 
measures will be taken hastily on the subject by us, 
I believe. The infancy of our government and our 
revenue depending almost altogether on foreign 
commerce, which would by a war be greatly de- 
ranged if not cut off, make the evils to be appre- 
hended by us in this event peculiarly serious. But 
if they will fight with us we must do the best we can. 

March 24, 1794. — The minds of people are so 
much agitated, and resentments are so warm, that 
there is reason to fear that we shall be hurried into 
the torrent that is ravaging Europe. 



42 JAMES MONROE. 

March 25, 1794. — If the embargo gets through 
I shall be almost inclined to think the Rubicon is 
passed and that war is inevitable. Not so much that 
the British will regard it as a hostile measure, but 
that it will tend to sharpen the minds of people, and 
precipitate us, from the heat of our passions, into tho 
war. 

March 27, 1794. — If we must enter into a war I 
should feel very unhappy to enter it under the au- 
spices of an act which would appear to me a compli- 
cation of villainy and bad policy. 

March 28, 1704. — We have a mad proposition 
before the House, brought in yesterday, for seques- 
tering British debts to form a fund for compensation 
to the sufferers by British spoliations. I feared it 
would pass, but the fever of the mind seems to be 
cooling a little, and I begin to hope for better things. 

April 8, 1794. — I am still persuaded that the 
threatening appearances will blow over and leave us 
at peace, in spite of the unaccountable proceedings 
of the British in the West Indies. I do not believe 
they mean to go to war with us. 

April 13, 1794. — A minister to the Court of 
London is still talked of, but this is not determined 
on, and these people appear to be very anxious to 
have something done which, as they say, shall give 
weight to negotiation, but their views and professions 
are apprehended to be widely different, and that in- 
stead of wishing to give effect, they would prefer 
doing something that should impede the negotia- 
tion. The President, with whom alone lies the 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 43 

power, is very cautious ; perhaps fortunately so for 
the country, as well as for his own reputation, but 
unluckily, (as it is more with the Legislature to lay 
the grounds by which negotiation might be facilitated 
or impeded, and to determine the popularity of the 
measure,) I suspect he hesitates and waits to see 
how the discussion in our House will issue. Had he 
already sent a negotiator it would have furnished an 
argument for our leaving things as they were when 
the negotiator left the country. 

April 16, 1794. — Mr. Jay is nominated. There 
is not perhaps a man in the United States whose 
character as a negotiator stands on higher ground. 
The appointment marks a disposition in the Presi- 
dent to come forward before mischief is done, and 
to try the ground of negotiation fairly with G. Brit- 
ain before any obstruction is thrown in the way by 
our confiscating British debts, or passing a non-im- 
portation act. 

April 19, 1794. — The embargo is again on, to 
last till the 25th of May in the same way as be- 
fore ; passed House of Representatives day before 
yesterday, and in Senate yesterday. I had not ex- 
pected it. 

April 22, 1794. — It is a doubt with many whether 
our present form of government continue many years. 
The jealousies which exist in the Southern States re- 
specting the funding system and most of the meas- 
ures of consequence which have been adopted, added 
to some strange and fantastical notions about liberty 
which they entertain, approaching nearly to French 



44 JAMES IfOXROE. 

extravagance of liberty and equality absolute, render 
the continuance of our Union for many years, even 
of peace, doubtful. But should a war take place I 
think we have scarcely ground to hope a continu- 
ance of the Union. 

April 24, 1794. — "We have perhaps as much to 
fear from the fever of French politics taking too 
strong a hold of the minds of the people of this 
country as from any other source. 

There is an interruption in the file of letters 
from which these extracts are taken, and I find 
in them no mention of the envoy to France. 

Monroe's instructions, as given to him by 
Randolph, were very minute, and contained the 
following pregnant sentences as the conclusion: 

" To conclude. You go, sir, to France, to 
strengthen our friendship with that country ; and 
you are well acquainted with the line of freedom 
and ease to which you may advance without betray- 
ing the dignity of the United States. You will show 
our confidence in the French Republic without be- 
traying the most remote mark of undue complaisance. 
You will let it be seen that, in case of war with any 
nation on earth, we shall consider France as our first 
and natural ally. You may dwell upon the sense 
which we entertain of past services, and for the more 
recent interposition in our behalf with the Dey of 
Algiers. Among the great events with which the 
world is now teeming, there may be an opening for 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 45 

France to become instrumental in securing to us the 
free navigation of the Mississippi. Spain may, per- 
haps, negotiate a peace, separate from Great Britain, 
with France. If she does, the Mississippi may be 
acquired through this channel, especially if you con- 
trive to have our mediation in any manner solicited." 

Monroe arrived in Paris just after the fall of 
Robespierre. Notwithstanding his out-spoken 
good-wiri for the popular cause, the Committee 
of Public Safety hesitated to receive him. His 
proceedings in consequence were full of ro- 
mance. Not another civilized nation upon 
earth, says Mr. Adams, had a recognized repre- 
sentative in France at that time. " I waited," 
says Monroe, " eight or ten days without pro- 
gressing an iota, and as I had heard that a min- 
ister from Geneva had been here about six 
weeks before me, and had not been received, I 
was fearful I might remain as long and, per- 
haps, much longer in the same situation." He 
therefore addressed a letter to the President of 
the Convention, " not knowing the competent 
department nor the forms established by law 
for my reception." A decree was passed at 
once that the minister of the United States 
" be introduced into the bosom of the Conven- 
tion to-morrow at two P. M." Accordingly he 
appeared before the Convention, August 15, 
1794, and presented an address in English, 



46 JAMES MONROE. 

with a translation of it into French, which ] 
ter was read by a secretary, together with t 
letters from Edmund Randolph, Secretary 
State, acknowledging the letter to Congi 
from the Committee of Public Safety. 
Monroe's address was as follows : — 

" Citizens, President, and Representatives of the 
French People, — My admission into this assembly, 
in presence of the French nation (for all the citizens 
of France are represented here) to be recognized 
as the representative of the American Republic, im- 
presses me with a degree of sensibility which I can- 
not express. I consider it a new proof of that friend- 
ship and regard which the French nation has always 
shown to their ally, the United States of America. 

" Republics should approach near to each other. 
In many respects they have all the same interest; 
but this is more especially the case with the Amer- 
ican and French republics. Their governments are 
similar ; they both cherish the same principles, and 
rest on the same basis, the equal and unalienable 
rights of man. The recollection, too, of common dan- 
gers and difficulties will increase their harmony and 
cement their union. America had her clay of oppres- 
sion, difficulty, and war ; but her sons were virtuous 
and brave, and the storm which long clouded her po- 
litical horizon has passed, and left them in the enjoy- 
ment of peace, liberty, and independence. France, 
our ally and our friend, and who aided in the contest, 
has now embarked in the same noble career ; and I 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 47 

am happy to add, that whilst the fortitude, magnan- 
imity, and heroic valor of her troops command the 
admiration and applause of the astonished world, the 
wisdom and firmness of her councils unite equally in 
securing the happiest result. 

"America is not an unfeeling spectator of your 
affairs at the present crisis. I lay before you, in the 
declarations of every department of our government, 
— declarations which are founded in the affections 
of the citizens at large, — the most decided proof of 
her sincere attachment to the liberty, prosperity, and 
happiness of the French Republic. Each branch of 
the Congress, according to the course of proceeding 
there, has requested the President to make this known 
to you in its behalf ; and, in fulfilling the desires of 
those branches, I am instructed to declare to you that 
he has expressed his own. 

" In discharging the duties of the office which I 
am now called to execute, I promise myself the high- 
est satisfaction, because I well know that, whilst I 
pursue the dictates of my own heart in wishing the 
liberty and happiness of the French nation, and which 
I most sincerely do, I speak the sentiments of my 
own country ; and that, by doing everything in my 
power to preserve and perpetuate the harmony so 
happily subsisting between the two republics, I shall 
promote the interest of both. To this great object, 
therefore, all my efforts will be directed. If I can 
be so fortunate as to succeed in such manner as to 
merit the approbation of both republics, I shall 
deem it the happiest event of my life, and retire 



48 JAMES MONROE. 

hereafter with a consolation which those who mean 
well, and have served the cause of liberty, alone can 
feel." 

A comparison of this speech with Randolph's 
injunctions, already quoted, wall show how far 
Monroe was carried by the enthusiasm of his 
youth and the unparalleled circumstances in 
which he was placed. That speech of ten 
minutes, received with applause and translated 
into both languages, " the American and the 
French," was the occasion of many a pang in 
his after life. 

The account of Monroe's reception may read- 
ily be found in the American State Papers, 1 
but a document, hitherto hidden, was lately 
brought to light by Mr. Washburne, the Amer- 
ican minister, who looked up, in the national 
archives of France, the proces verbal on the 
day referred to, August 15, 1794. Here is the 
interesting extract which be sent to Mr. Fish 
" to fill the gap " in the diplomatic records of 
that period. 2 

Extract from the "proces verbal" of the National Con- 
vention of August 15, 1794. — Translation. 
The Citizen James Monroe, minister plenipoten- 
tiary of the United States of America near the 

i Vol. i. p. 672. 

2 Foreign Relations of the U. S. 1876. Mr. Washburne to 
Mr. Fish, Paris, October 23, 1876. 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 49 

French Republic, is admitted in the hall of the sit- 
ting of the National Convention. He takes his place 
in the midst of the representatives of the people, 
and remits to the President with his letters of cre- 
dence, a translation of a discourse addressed to the 
National Convention ; it is read by one of the secre- 
taries. The expressions of fraternity, of union be- 
tween the two people, and the interest which the 
people of the United States take in the success of the 
French Republic, are heard with the liveliest sensi- 
bility and covered with applause. 

Reading is also given to the letters of credence of 
Citizen Monroe, as well as to those written by the 
American Congress and by its President, to the 
National Convention and to the Committee of Public 
Safety. 

In witness of the fraternity which unites the two 
peoples, French and American, the President 1 gives 
the accolade (fraternal embrace) to Citizen Monroe. 

Afterward, upon the proposition of many members, 
the National Convention passes with unanimity the 
following decree : — 

Article I. The reading and verification being had 
of the powers of Citizen James Monroe, he is recognized 
and proclaimed minister plenipotentiary of the United 
States of America near the French Republic. 

Article II. The letters of credence of Citizen 
James Monroe, minister plenipotentiary of the United 
States of America, those which he has remitted on the 
part of the American Congress and its President, ad- 

1 Merlin de Douai. 
4 



50 JAMES MONROE 

dressed to the National Convention and to the Commit- 
tee of Public Safety, the discourse of Citizen Monroe, 
the response of the President of the Convention, shal) 
be printed in the two languages, French and American 
and inserted in the bulletin of correspondence. 

Article III. The flasfs of the United States of 
America shall be joined to those of France, and dis- 
played in the hall of the sittings of the Convention, in 
sign of the union and eternal fraternity of the two people. 

Mr. Wasliburne calls attention to the phrase, 
"the two languages, French and American," 
as illustrating the hatred of the English ; and 
he gives to Secretary Fish the following amus- 
ing interpretation of the accolade, based upon 
his own experience in the new republic. 

" For many days," he says, " after I had, by your in- 
structions, recognized the republic, which was pro- 
claimed on the 4th of September, 1870, regiment 
after regiment of the national guard marched to the 
legation to make known to our government, through 
me, their profound appreciation of its prompt action 
in recognizing the government of the national de- 
fence. Forming on the corner of the rue de Chaillot 
and the avenue Josephine, they would send up cheers 
and cries of " Vive la Republique," till I would ap- 
pear on the balcony to make my acknowledgments. 
Then some officers of the regiment would be deputed 
to call upon me in the chambers of the legation, to 
tender me their personal thanks for my agency in the 
matter of recognition of their new government, and 
to give me the fraternal embrace (" accolade "), which 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 51 

was carried out in letter and spirit, and sometimes 
much to the amusement of the numerous visitors who 
were present on the occasion." 

A short time after his reception Monroe pre- 
sented an American flag to the Convention, 
intrusting its carriage to Captain, afterwards 
Commodore, Barney, an officer of the United 
States Navy, with whom Monroe had crossed 
the Atlantic. Captain Barney made a brief 
speech on the occasion in the presence of the 
Convention, received an accolade from the 
President, and was complimented with a pro- 
posal to enter the naval service of France. 
When the body of Rousseau was deposited in 
the Pantheon, this flag, borne by young Bar- 
ney and a nephew of Monroe, preceded the 
column of Americans. The American minis- 
ter and his suite, we are told, were the only 
persons permitted to enter the Pantheon with 
the National Convention to witness the conclu- 
sion of the ceremony. 

Several months later (March 6, 1795) Mon- 
roe makes this casual mention of the flag in his 
dispatch : — 

" I had forgotten to notify you officially the pres- 
ent I had made to the Convention of our flag. It 
was done in consequence of the order of that body 
for its suspension in its hall, and an intimation from 



52 JAMES MONROE. 

the President himself that they had none, and were 
ignorant of the model." 

Near the close of his life Monroe said that 
when he first arrived in France his situation 
was the most difficult and painful he had ever 
experienced. War with the United States was 
seriously menaced. He tells us that he could 
make no impression on the Committee of Pub- 
lic Safety, and so he determined to appeal to the 
real government, the People, through the nom- 
inal one, the Convention, and thus fairly bring 
the cause before the nation. He knew that 
their object was liberty, and that many French 
citizens had brought home from America the 
spirit of our struggle and infused it among 
their countrymen. At the head of our gov- 
ernment stood one who was rightly held in the 
highest veneration by the French people ; and 
he felt sure that if he brought before them con- 
vincing proofs of Washington's good wishes 
for their success, supported by that of the other 
branches of our government, the hostile spirit 
of the French government would be subdued 
and his official recognition would follow. On 
this principle he spoke to the Convention with 
the desired effect. As this address was the 
subject of severe animadversions at home, and 
as he was charged with going beyond his in- 
structions, the following extract from a long 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 53 

letter to Judge Jones (April 4, 1794) 1 may be 
taken as evidence that the envoy acted accord- 
ing to his understanding of the instructions he 
had received. 

" I inclose you a copy of my address, etc., to the 
Convention upon my introduction, and of the Presi- 
dent's reply. I thought it my duty to lay those 
papers before the Convention as the basis of my mis- 
sion, containing the declaration of every department 
in favor of the French revolution, or implying it 
strongly. My address, you will observe, goes no 
farther than the declarations of both houses.'' 

Flattered by his reception in the Convention, 
Monroe was destined to a profound disappoint- 
ment when he received a dispatch from home, 
written by Randolph " in the frankness of 
friendship," criticising severely the course he 
had pursued. 

" When you left us," said the Secretary of State, 
" we all supposed that your reception as the minister 
of the United States would take place in the private 
chamber of some committee. Your letter of credence 
contained the degree of profession which the govern- 
ment was desirous of making ; and though the lan- 
guage of it would not have been cooled, even if its 
subsequent publicity had been foreseen, still it was 
natural to expect that the remarks with which you 
might accompany its delivery would be merely oral, 

1 Gouverneur MSS. 



54 JAMES MONROE. 

and therefore not exposed to the rancorous criticism 
of nations at war with France. 

" It seems that, upon your arrival, the downfall of 
Robespierre and the suspension of the usual routine 
of business, combined, perhaps, with an anxiety to 
demonstrate an affection for the United States, had 
shut up for a time the diplomatic cabinet, and ren- 
dered the hall of the National Convention the thea- 
tre of diplomatic civilities. We should have sup- 
posed that an introduction there would have brought 
to mind these ideas : ' The United States are neutral ; 
the allied Powers jealous ; with England we are 
now in treaty; by England we have been impeached 
for breaches of faith in favor of France; our citizens 
are notoriously Gallican in their hearts ; it will be 
wise to hazard as little as possible on the score of 
good humor ; and, therefore, in the disclosure of my 
feelings, something is due to the possibility of fos- 
tering new suspicions.' Under the influence of these 
sentiments, we should have hoped that your address 
to the National Convention would have been so 
framed as to leave heart-burning nowhere. If pri- 
vate affection and opinions had been the only points 
to be consulted, it would have been immaterial where 
or how they were delivered. But the range of a 
public minister's mind will go to all the relations of 
our country with the whole world. We do not per- 
ceive that your instructions have imposed upon you 
the extreme glow of some parts of your address ; and 
my letter in behalf of the House of Representatives, 
which has been considered by some gentlemen as too 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 55 

strong, was not to be viewed in any other light than 
as executing the task assigned by that body. 

"After these remarks, which are never to be inter- 
preted into any dereliction of the French cause, I 
must observe to you that they are made principally 
to recommend caution, lest we should be obliged at 
some time or other to explain away or disavow an 
excess of fervor, so as to reduce it down to the cool 
system of neutrality. You have it still in charge to 
cultivate the French Republic with zeal, but without 
any unnecessary eclat ; because the dictates of sin- 
cerity do not demand that we should render notorious 
all our feelings in favor of that nation." 

A little later Randolph took a more concili- 
atory tone, and Monroe believed that he would 
never have spoken so severely if all the dis- 
patches had reached him in due order. 

Early in his residence the American minis- 
ter was involved in a discussion with respect to 
Mr. Morris's passports, of so delicate a charac- 
ter that the story was privately communicated 
by Monroe to Washington. 1 This letter illus- 
trates the delays of correspondence, for it is 
dated November 18, and acknowledges Wash- 
ington's of June 25, " which would have been 
answered sooner if any safe opportunity had 
offered for Bordeaux, from whence vessels most 

1 Gouverneur MSS. 



56 JAMES MONROE. 

frequently sail for America." Such delays had 
a significant bearing upon the continuous mis- 
understandings between the administration and 
its distant representative. 1 Monroe was also 
engaged in a complex correspondence with ref- 
erence to the release of Lafayette from impris- 
onment at Olmiitz, and concerning pecuniary 
assistance to Madame Lafayette, in whose re- 
lease he was instrumental. Many of our ves- 
sels had been seized and condemned with their 
cargoes, and hundreds of our citizens were then 
in Paris and the seaports of France, many 
of them imprisoned, and all treated like ene- 
mies. This involved the American minister 
in weighty responsibilities, and employed his 
utmost energy. His effort to secure the re- 
lease of Thomas Paine from imprisonment was 
another noteworthy transaction, to which fre- 
quent reference was made in subsequent days, 
both by friends and opponents. " Mr. Paine," 
he wrote, September 15, 1795, "has lived in 
my house for about ten months past. He was, 
upon my arrival, confined in the Luxembourg, 
and released on my application ; after which, 
being sick, he has remained with me. . . . The 

i On February 15, 1795, the Secretary of State acknowl- 
edges Monroe's last date, September 15, 1794, which had been 
received November 27. Monroe's dispatches of August 11 
and 25 were received between December 2 and 5. 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 57 

symptoms have become worse, and the prospect 
now is that he will not be able to hold out 
more than a month or two at the farthest. I 
shall certainly pay the utmost attention to this 
gentleman, as he is one of those whose merits 
in our Revolution were most distinguished." 

It was not long before Monroe became en- 
tangled in a much more serious complication. 
A treaty with Great Britain had been negoti- 
ated by Jay ; so much as this was positively 
known in Paris near the close of 1794, and 
more was inferred in respect to it. Citizen 
Merlin de Douai (the one who gave Monroe the 
accolade a few months before) and four of his 
associates in the Committee of Public Safety 
demanded a copy of the treaty. This was their 
letter (December 27, 1794) : — 

" We are informed, Citizen, that there was lately 
concluded at London a treaty of alliance and com- 
merce between the British government and Citizen 
Jay, Envoy Extraordinary of the United States. 

" A vague report spreads itself abroad that in this 
treaty the Citizen Jay has forgotten those things 
which our treaties with the American people, and 
the sacrifices which the French people made to ren- 
der them free, gave us a right to expect, on the part 
of a minister of a nation which we have so many 
motives to consider as friendly. 

" It is important that we know positively in what 



58 JAMES MONROE. 

light we are to hold this affair. There ought not to 
subsist between two free peoples the dissimulation 
which belongs to courts ; and it gives us pleasure to 
declare that we consider you as much opposed, per- 
sonally, to that kind of policy as we are ourselves. 

" We invite you, then, to communicate to us as 
soon as possible the treaty whereof there is question. 
It is the only means whereby you can enable the 
French nation justly to appreciate those reports so 
injurious to the American government, and to which 
that treaty gave birth." 

In reply to this and other demands for exact 
information Monroe pleaded ignorance, and he 
refused to receive from Jay confidential and in- 
formal statements in respect to the treaty. He 
contented himself with general expressions in 
reference to the purport of the English mission, 
and with strenuous efforts to allay the French 
excitement. When the treaty reached him he 
wrote to Judge Jones, " Jay's treaty surpasses 
all that I feared, great as my fears were of his 
mission. Indeed, it is the most shameful trans- 
action I have ever known of the kind." : 

The language in which he reported to th£ au- 
thorities at home, a few months before, the con- 
dition of affairs, is this (January 13, 1795) : — 

" After my late communications to the Committee 
of Public Safety, in which were exposed freely the 

1 Gouverneur MSS. 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 59 

object of Mr. Jay's mission to England, and the real 
situation of the United States with Britain and Spain, 
I had reason to believe that all apprehension on those 
points was done away, and that the utmost cordiality 
had now likewise taken place in that body towards 
us. I considered the report above recited, and upon 
which the decree was founded, as the unequivocal 
proof of that change of sentiment, and flattered my- 
self that, in every respect, we had now the best pros- 
pect of the most perfect and permanent harmony be- 
tween the two republics. I am very sorry, however, 
to add, that latterly this prospect has been some- 
what clouded by accounts from England, that Mr. 
Jay had not only adjusted the points in controversy, 
but concluded a treaty of commerce with that gov- 
ernment. Some of those accounts state that he had 
also concluded a treaty of alliance, offensive and de- 
fensive. As I knew the baneful effect which these 
reports would produce, I deemed it my duty, by re- 
peating what I had said before of his powers, to use 
my utmost endeavors, informally, to discredit them. 
This, however, did not arrest the progress of the re- 
port, nor remove the disquietude it had created, for 
I was finally applied to, directly, by the committee, 
in a letter, which stated what had been heard, and 
requested information of what I knew in regard to 
it. As I had just before received one from Mr. Jay, 
announcing that he had concluded a treaty, and which 
contained a declaration that our previous treaties 
should not be affected by it, I thought fit to make 
this letter the basis of my reply. And as it is neces- 



60 JAMES MONROE. 

sary that you should be apprised of whatever has 
passed here on this subject, I now transmit to you 
copies of these several papers, and which comprise a 
full statement thereof, up to the present time. 

" I cannot admit, for a moment, that Mr. Jay has 
exceeded his powers, or that anything has been done 
which will give just cause of complaint to this re- 
public. I lament, however, that he has not thought 
himself at liberty to give me correct information on 
that subject ; for until it is known that their interest 
has not been wounded, the report will certainly keep 
alive suspicion, and which always weakens the bonds 
of friendship. I trust, therefore, you will deem it 
expedient to advise me on this head as soon as possi- 
ble." 

The irritation of the French, when at length 
they discovered the actual purport of Jay's 
treaty, was very great. In February, 1796, it 
appeared that the Directory considered the alli- 
ance between France and the United States as 
ceasing to exist from the moment the treaty was 
ratified, and intended to send a special envoy to 
the United States in order to express their ex- 
treme dissatisfaction. Monroe succeeded in 
changing their purpose, and elicited from M. de 
la Croix, the Foreign Minister, a summary, in 
three headings, of the French complaints, to 
which he sent an elaborate reply. The two 
countries had come to the very verge of war. 
But the administration at home was angry with 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 61 

the envoy for not having endeavored more 
strenuously to allay the apprehensions of France, 
and for failing to avert the impending danger. 

During the progress of these events, the 
portfolio of foreign affairs had been given up 
by Randolph, and taken up by Pickering, who 
began his correspondence September 12, 1795, 
by acknowledging a series of letters, of which 
the first was written ten months before. Mon- 
roe gained nothing by this change in the coun- 
cils at home. Randolph's censures were mild 
in comparison with those which his successor 
bestowed on the unfortunate envoy. One of the 
severest of his letters is that of June 13, 1796, 
in which he complains that Monroe failed to 
make a suitable vindication of the United States 
government at a time when the justice, the 
faith, and the honor of our country were ques- 
tioned, and the most important interests were 
at stake. This is followed a short time after- 
wards by a notification that he is superseded by 
C. C. Pinckney. 

On his arrival in Paris, Pinckney was pre- 
sented by Monroe to the Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, but was refused recognition by the Di- 
rectory, and was not permitted to remain in 
Paris. Mr. Ticknor has recorded a conversation 
with Baron Pichon to this effect, that Paine 
lived in Monroe's house at Paris, and had a 



62 JAMES MONROE. 

great deal too much influence over him ; that 
Monroe's insinuations and representations of 
General Pinckney's character, as an aristo- 
crat, prevented his reception as minister by 
the Directory ; and that, in general, Monroe, 
with whose negotiations and affairs Pichon was 
specially charged, acted as a party-democrat 
against the interests of General Washington's 
administration, and against what Pichon con- 
sidered the interests of the United States. 1 
On the other hand, we have Pinckney's asser- 
tion, that during his brief residence he saw 
Monroe frequently, and found him open and 
candid, and disposed to make every communi- 
cation which would be of service to our coun- 
try. It should also be said that Monroe was 
treated with coolness by the French govern- 
ment some time before his recall, though the 
civilities to him were renewed when his return 
to America was evidently at hand. 

The ceremony of flag presentation was re- 
peated in this country. A French flag, sent 
across the water, was received by Congress near 
New Year's Day in 1796. 

" A mighty foolish ceremony it was," writes the 
federalist already quoted. 2 " It may, however, have 
the good effect of quieting the minds of some people 

1 Life of George Ticknor, ii. 113. 

2 Joshua Coit, January 5, 1796. 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 63 

who are afraid that the French are very angry about 
our treaty with Great Britain ; that nation is said 
to have been long famed for their address in med- 
dling with the politics of foreign nations, and they 
have sujDported well the character in this country, but 
I hope we shall keep clear of their influence. The 
administrators of our government have no British 
attachment, but wish to keep clear of all foreign 
politics, and but for the madness of party I think 
the people of the United States would universally see 
and approve the policy. The treaty with Great 
Britain was necessary to settle existing disputes, in 
its most important articles ; the commercial part of 
it is experimental, and throws no restraint on our 
commerce with other nations, has no tendency to 
form political connections, and I believe secures im- 
portant advantages to us." 

Monroe's recall was dated August 22. Men- 
tioning this fact to Joseph Jones, be intimated 
that the letter was probably kept back to pre- 
vent his arrival before the elections were over. 
** I shall decline a winter passage," he added, 
" and therefore most probably shall not embark 
till April or May." 1 He reached home full 
of wrath, but the opposition party gave him a 
cordial greeting, and he was entertained in 
Philadelphia at a public dinner where Jeffer- 
son, the Vice-President, Dayton, the Speaker, 
Chief Justice. McKean, and other conspicuous 

1 Gouverueur MSS. 



64 James monroe. 

men were present. Monroe's failure, it is clear, 
was not personal, it was a party failure. His 
hand was soon turned against the administra- 
tion of Adams. He demanded of Pickering 
the reasons of his recall, and drew from the 
Secretary, who was not at all afraid of say- 
ing what he thought, a very explicit response. 
Washington, in a note to Pickering (Mt. Ver- 
non, August 29, 1797), mentioned that Colonel 
Monroe had passed through Alexandria, but did 
not honor him with a call. 

The envoy's neglect did not mean silence. 
He soon published a pamphlet of five hundred 
pages, entitled, " A View of the Conduct of 
the Executive," in which he printed his in- 
structions, correspondence with the French and 
United States governments, speeches, and let- 
ters received from Americans resident in Paris. 
It remains to this day a most extraordinary 
volume, full of entertaining and instructive les- 
sons to young diplomatists. Washington, re- 
tired from public life, appears to have kept 
quiet under strong provocation, but he sent a 
letter upon the subject to John Nicholas, and 
in his copy of the "View" he wrote his ani- 
madversions, paragraph by paragraph. These 
notes, long suppressed, were at length given to 
the world by Sparks. 1 

1 Washington's Writings, vol. x. pp. 226, 504. 



-y 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 65 

Monroe enumerates the following points, 
which, taken collectively, are to show his diplo- 
matic position and the attitude of the adminis- 
tration toward him. He mentions, 

1. The appointment of Gouverneur Morris, 
a known enemy of the French Revolution. 

2. His continuance in office till troubles 
came. 

3. His removal at the demand of the French 
government. 

4. The subsequent appointment of Monroe, 
an opponent of the administration, especially 
in its foreign policy. 

5. The instructions given to Monroe as to 
the explanations he should give the French in 
respect to Jay's mission, which concealed the 
power given him to form a commercial treaty. 

6. The strong expressions of attachment to 
France and the principles of the French Revo- 
lution given to Monroe. 

7. The resentment of the administration 
when these documents were made public. 

8. The approval of Monroe's endeavor to se- 
cure a repeal of the obnoxious decrees, and the 
silence which followed their repeal. 

9. Jay's power to form a commercial treaty 
with England, without corresponding advances 
to France. 

10. The withholding from Monroe of the 

5 



QQ JAMES MONROE. 

contents of the treaty, an evidence of unfair 
dealing. 

11. The submission of this treaty to M. 
Adet, after the advice of the Senate, and be- 
fore its ratification by the President. 

12. The character of Jay's treaty, which de- 
parts from the modern rule of contraband, and 
yields the principle, " Free ships shall make 
free goods." 

13. The irritable bearing of the administra- 
tion toward France, after the ratification, in 
contrast with its bearing toward England, when 
it was proposed to decline the ratification. 

14. Monroe's recall, just when he had suc- 
ceeded in quieting the French government for 
the time, and was likely to do so effectually. 

I have not been able to trace Washington's 
copy of the " View" which, according to Sparks, 
was given to a distinguished jurist, but in the 
library of Cornell University Sparks's trans- 
cript of Washington's notes is preserved. In 
this are the notes of Washington (hitherto not 
printed) on Monroe's appendix. By the per- 
mission of the authorities, I am able to print 
upon a subsequent page these fresh annota- 
tions. 1 Here three examples only will be given. 
Monroe, in a dispatch (February 12, 1795), 
having spoken of the danger of war with France, 

1 See Appendix. 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 67 

inquires, What course then was I to pursue? 
The note of Washington is this : " As nothing 
but justice and the fulfilment of a contract was 
asked, it dictated firmness conducted with tem- 
perance in the pursuit of it." Monroe : " The 
doors of the Committee [of Public Safety] were 
closed against me." Washington : " This ap- 
pears nowhere but in his own conjectures." 
Again, incidentally, Washington writes, " The 
truth is, Mr. Monroe was cajoled, flattered, and 
made to believe strange things. In return he 
did, or was disposed to do, whatever was pleas- 
ing to that nation, reluctantly urging the rights 
of his own." 

A war of pamphlets and newspaper articles 
followed the publication of the " View," in 
which Federalists and Republicans damaged 
each other's reputation as much as they could. 

Party feeling was ablaze before Monroe pub- 
lished his book, but the flames rose fiercely 
when it appeared. Oliver Wolcott wrote to 
Washington that it was a wicked misrepresen- 
tation of facts ; that the author's conduct was 
detested by all good men, though he was sorry 
to say that many applauded it. As to Wash- 
ington's character and administration, he was 
sure that the " View " would make no impres- 
sion beyond the circle of Tom Paine's ad- 
mirers. John Adams wrote that he was hurt 



68 JAMES MONROE. 

at the levity of the Americans in Paris. Fisher 
Ames's satirical touch is seen in a letter to C. 
Gore, written after the election of Jefferson, 
where he says, " Monroe will, if he likes, re- 
turn to France to embrace liberty again." 

From another section of the Federalists this 
opinion comes. Harper of South Carolina, in 
a speech on the Foreign Intercourse Bill, speak- 
ing of the " View," remarks : — 

" In this book is to be found the most complete 
justification of the Executive for his recall, in every 
respect except that it was so long delayed ; for the 
book contains the most singular display of incapacity, 
unfaithfulness, and presumption, of neglect of orders, 
forgetfulness of the dignity, rights, and interests of 
his own country, and servile devotedness to the gov- 
ernment of the country to which he was sent, that 
can be found in the history of diplomacy." 

He even intimates that Monroe was influ- 
enced by bribery. But this was going quite 
too far. The historian Hildreth, who is not less 
severe than the most severe critic yet quoted, 
in his estimate of Monroe repudiates the in- 
sinuation of Harper. " These gross insinua- 
tions," he says, " were totally baseless. The 
time had not yet come when American states- 
men were to be purchased for money. How 
perfectly sincere Monroe was in his opinions is 
manifest throughout the whole correspondence, 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 69 

which no purchased tool of France, none but a 
man blinded by enthusiastic passion, could ever 
have written, and still less would have published. 
Nor were such views at all confined to Monroe. 
They were shared by most of the leaders and 
by the great mass of the opposition party." 
These are the words of the Federalist historian, 
half a century after the " View " appeared. 1 

Some extracts should also be given from the 
writings of Monroe's friends. For example, 
Edward Church wrote from Lisbon, December 
24, 1796, " My ideas of the importance of ob- 
serving inviolate our friendship and alliance 
with the French nation go far beyond yours, 
as I conceive the connection essentially neces- 
sary to our preservation as independent states, 
it being evidently our best, if not our only se- 
curity against the danger of becoming once 
more the poor, pitiful, servile, dependent slaves 
of Britain." 2 

The wrath of another of Monroe's corre- 
spondents, in Paris, found expression in these 
terms : — 

" "Were I able to draw the contrast, which the sub- 
ject so richly deserves, between this extraordinary 
man's military exit and that of the late idolized stat- 
ute [sic'] of the people of my country, I would so 

1 Hildreth's United States, ii. 101. 

2 Gouverneur MSS. 



70 JAMES MONROE. 

paint Mr. "Washington on his milk-white steed, re- 
ceiving the incense of all the little girls on Trenton 
Bridge, and then I would march him about in the 
streets of Boston, so like a roasted ox that I once 
saw carried a whole day in triumph by the people of 
that famous town, that the automaton chief should 
groan and sweat under the weight of those laurels, 
which are momently dropping from his brows into 
the sink and dirt of his puny and anti-republican ad- 
ministration." * 

There is a significant paragraph in Thiers's 
" History of the French Revolution," which 
may be regarded, I think, as showing the im- 
pression which Monroe made upon the people 
to whom he was accredited : — 

" In the French government there were persons in 
favor of a rupture with the United States. Monroe, 
who was ambassador to Paris, gave the Directory the 
most prudent advice on this occasion. War with 
France, said he, will force the American government 
to throw itself into the arms of England and to sub- 
mit to her influence ; aristocracy will gain supreme 
control in the United States, and liberty will be com- 
promised. By patiently enduring, on the contrary, 
the wrongs of the present President, you will leave 
him without excuse, you will enlighten the Amer- 
icans, and decide a contrary choice at the next elec- 
tion. All the wrongs of which France may have to 
complain will then be repaired. This wise and provi- 

1 Gouvemeur MSS. May 15, 1797. 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 71 

dent advice had its effect upon the Directory. Rew- 
bell, Barras, and Lareveillere, had caused it to be 
adopted in opposition to the opinion of the system- 
atic Carnot, who, though in general favorably dis- 
posed to peace, insisted on the cession of Louisiana, 
with a view to attempt the establishment of a repub- 
lic there." 

In addition to this diplomatic controversy, 
Monroe was involved in another more personal 
collision with Hamilton, occasioned by the Cal- 
lender publication, 1 — but into the details of 
this disagreeable story I see no reason for en- 
tering now. 

Monroe was much displeased by the publica- 
tion of that part of his dispatches which related 
to the Jacobins, and thus wrote to Judge Jones, 
June 20, 1795: — 

" The publication of extracts from my letters re- 
specting the Jacobins was an unbecoming and uncan- 
did thing, as they were the only parts of my corre- 
spondence that were published. I stated the truth, 
and therefore am not dissatisfied with the publica- 
tion in that respect. But to me it appears strange 
that the fortunes of that misguided club should be 
the only subject treated in my correspondence upon 
which it was necessary to convey the information it 
could to our countrymen. Certainly, in relation to 

i " An undigested and garrulous collection of libels." Hil- 
dreth, ii. 104. 



72 JAMES MONROE. 

the honor and welfare of my country, it was the least 
important of all the subjects upon which I treated. 
Besides, that club was as unlike the patriotic societies 
in America as light is to darkness, the former being 
a society that had absolutely annihilated all other 
government in France, and whose denunciations 
carried immediately any of the deputies to the scaf- 
fold, whereas the latter are societies of enlightened 
men, who discuss measures and principles, and of 
course whose opinions have no other weight than as 
they are well founded and have reason on their side, 
to extirpate which is to extirpate liberty itself." 

During all his exciting residence in Paris, it 
is interesting to trace the minute interest main- 
tained by Monroe in whatever pertained to his 
domestic affairs. There are long letters in the 
Gouverneur collection devoted to his financial 
business, to the welfare of his brothers, An- 
drew and Joseph, and of his sister, to his land 
bought near Mr. Jefferson, bis servants, fruit- 
trees, etc., besides many a passage in regard to 
his nephew Joseph, who was at school at St. 
Germain, and young Rutledge, likewise placed 
under the envoy's paternal care. His interest 
in the progress of these American boys in their 
French school betrays an unvarying kindness 
of heart in the midst of pressing anxieties and 
cares. 

Times change. Five years after Monroe's 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 73 

recall, Jefferson writes : x " We have ever looked 
to France as our natural friend, one with whom 
we could never have an occasion of difference ; 
but there is one spot on the globe, the possessor 
of which is our natural enemy. That spot is 
New Orleans. France placing herself in that 
door assumes to us the attitude of defiance. . . . 
From that moment we must marry ourselves to 
the British fleet and nation." 

1 To Livingston, April 18, 1802. 



CHAPTER IV. 

ENVOY IN FRANCE, SPAIN, AND ENGLAND. 

Jefferson, never wanting in interest when 
Monroe's affairs required counsel, and trusting 
him implicitly, wrote to the despondent and 
angry envoy that he ought to come forward 
again into public life. " Come to Congress," was 
his advice, as if coming to Congress was an act 
of the will, — " reappear on the public theatre ; 
Cabel has said he would give way to you." 1 
But instead of entering at once into national 
affairs, Monroe became governor of Virginia, 
and held the office three years. Jefferson, 
meanwhile, had become President, and soon 
had an opportunity to return Monroe to the 
legation in France. The story of this second 
embassy includes the purchase of Louisiana, 
and has therefore been examined over and over 
again by those who are interested in the growth 
of our national territory. 

In addition to the usual publication of the 
correspondence of the times, much reliance is 
placed on the volume by Barbe Marbois, in 
1 Letter to Monroe, "May 21, 1798. Jefferson, iv. 241-243. 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 75 

which he reports his interviews with Bonaparte. 
The English translation of this work is attrib- 
uted to William Beach Lawrence ; l its appen- 
dix omits some statements which are given in 
the original French. Among the manuscripts 
of Monroe I have met with this remark, " the 
work of Marbois is written in a spirit of great 
candor, and with friendly feeling for me, but 
he is mistaken in some facts which I have docu- 
ments to show." 2 

The importance of the outlet of the Missis- 
sippi to the inhabitants of the great valley of 
the West was always obvious. As early as 1784 
Monroe had written in regard to it, and in his 
first mission to France, as we have seen, he had 
been instructed to press the claims of the United 
States. 

In the spring of 1801 intelligence reached 
this country that Spain had ceded her rights in 
Louisiana to France, and the next year the 
Spanish intendant gave notice that New Or- 
leans would no longer be a " place of deposit." 3 
Jefferson communicated this highly significant 
information to Congress when it assembled 
in December. There was great excitement 
through the country, especially in the West, 
and one newspaper, at least, raised the cry of 
disunion. 

1 C. F. Hart, in Penn Monthly. 

2 May 29, 1829. 3 October 16, 1802. 



76 JAMES MONROE. 

The conclusion was quickly reached, to pur- 
chase from France, if possible, the outlet to the 
Gulf of Mexico. Congress appropriated the 
sum of two million dollars for this object ; and 
Jefferson selected Monroe to go as a special 
minister and act with Livingston, our resident 
representative at Paris, in an endeavor to secure 
the coveted domain. Almost simultaneously 
Lewis and Clarke were recommended for the 
exploration of the upper Mississippi. Monroe 
accordingly went upon his embassy, and within 
a month after his arrival was able with his 
colleague to report the purchase of Louisiana. 
The treaty was ratified by Bonaparte in May, 
1803, and by the Senate of the United States 
in the next October. It is not always that 
the interior history of a great international 
bargain is so fully revealed to the public as it 
is in the present case, and Monroe's relation to 
it must now be more carefully considered. 

The interests of four nations were closely 
involved in this transaction : Spain, who had 
promised to yield her rights in Louisiana, but 
retained her control of the Floridas, and had 
not, according to Talleyrand's statements, quite 
perfected the transfer ; England, in a hostile 
attitude toward France, and not unlikely at 
any time to make a descent upon a portion of 
her territory ; France, in anxious expectation 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 77 

of an outbreak of hostilities, in want of money, 
and predisposed to build up in America a power 
which should rival England ; and the United 
States, eager to secure the maritime outlet of 
its great river system, and almost inclined to 
seize it by force. 

Six individuals were conspicuous in the ne- 
gotiation : on the American side, Jefferson, 
once minister to France, now sixty years old, 
and half way through his first presidential 
term, whose sagacity recognized the importance 
of securing Louisiana, and initiated the pur- 
chase ; R. R. Livingston, two years younger, 
who had been for two years resident as the 
American minister in France, and had been 
pressing the American claim to be indemnified 
for the French spoliations, and had brought 
the government to consider the possibility of 
ceding the desired territory ; and Monroe, for- 
ty-five years old, whose former residence in 
Paris was not forgotten, and who entered upon 
his second diplomatic mission fresh from the 
instructions of Jefferson and Madison, and from 
the inspiration of popular enthusiasm with 
respect to the acquisition which he was sent 
to secure. On the French side stood Bona- 
parte, the youngest of the group, thirty-five 
years old, then First Consul, and in the flush of 
his military and civil power ; Talleyrand, a 



78 JAMES 31 ON ROE. 

man of forty-nine years, holding the portfolio 
of Foreign Affairs, not wholly trusted by the 
Consul, but well qualified by his skill in diplo- 
macy and by his acquaintance with the United 
States to take a part in the business ; and 
Marbois (about the age of Livingston), who 
had held a diplomatic position in America, and 
was now the Minister of the Treasury, enjoy- 
ing the confidence of Bonaparte, and called by 
him to be leader in this negotiation. In his 
history of this transaction, Marbois attributes 
its rapid and felicitous progress to the fact that 
the plenipotentiaries had been long acquainted, 
and were disposed to treat one another with 
mutual confidence. 

Livingston, as soon as he heard of Monroe's 
arrival in Havre, sent him the following letter 
of welcome, written in a tone of despondency : — 

" \Qth April, 1803. 
" I congratulate you on your safe arrival. We have 
long and anxiously waited for you. God grant that 
your mission may answer yours and the public ex- 
pectation. War may do something for us, nothing 
else would. I have paved the way for you, and if 
you could add to my memoirs an assurance that we 
were now in possession of New Orleans, we should 
do well ; but I detain Mr. Bentalou, who is impatient 
to fly to the arms of his wife. I have apprised the 
minister of your arrival, and told him you would be 
here on Tuesday or Wednesday." 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 79 

It so happened that on this very day, April 
10, after the solemnities of Easter Sunday, 
Bonaparte discussed with Talleyrand and Mar- 
bois the Louisiana question. They were di- 
vided in counsel ; the conference was prolonged 
into the night, and the ministers remained at 
St. Cloud. At daybreak Bonaparte, having al- 
ready received alarming dispatches from Eng- 
land, summoned Marbois, who had advised the 
cession, and said to him in substance : u I re- 
nounce Louisiana. Negotiate for its cession. 
Don't wait for Monroe. I want fifty million 
francs ; for less I will not treat. Acquaint me 
day by day, hour by hour, with your progress. 
Keep Talleyrand informed." Armed with these 
instructions, Marbois sought Livingston. Be- 
fore they met, Talleyrand had been unsuccess- 
fully endeavoring to reach some point of agree- 
ment. He had asked Livingston if the United 
States wished for the whole of Louisiana. The 
answer had been No ; but that it would be pol- 
itic in France to give it up. The price to be 
paid was the matter in question. 

At this juncture Monroe reached Paris. He 
heard with surprise from Livingston of the 
readiness of the French to sell the territory, and 
the two envoys proceeded to discuss the price 
which they could venture to promise. While 
Monroe was taking his first dinner with Liv- 



80 JAMES MONROE. 

ingston, in company with other American gen- 
tlemen, Marbois appeared in the garden and 
presently joined the party. Before leaving he 
led Livingston into a free conference upon the 
cession, and invited him to continue the talk at 
a later hour after the company had dispersed. 
Livingston went to the house of Marbois, and 
stayed there till midnight. The whole country 
of Louisiana was then offered to the United 
States for one hundred million francs, and the 
claims. Livingston pronounced it an exorbi- 
tant price, and Marbois did not deny that it was. 
No conclusion could be reached without consult- 
ing Monroe ; but Livingston, without waiting 
to do so, sat up until three o'clock and wrote 
a midnight dispatch to Madison, narrating the 
interview with Marbois, and saying that he was 
sure the purchase was wise. He also made a 
suggestion, which in these days is astounding, 
that if the price is too high, the outlay may be 
reimbursed by the " sale of the territory west of 
the Mississippi, with the right of sovereignty, 
to some Power in Europe, whose vicinity we 
should not fear." 1 This is not precisely in ac- 
cordance with what was afterwards known as 
the Monroe doctrine. 

From this time on, Talleyrand was not con- 
spicuous in the scenes, though it is more than 

1 State Papers, ii. 554. 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 81 

possible that behind them his hand was at 
work, perhaps obstructively. At any rate, for 
one reason or another, he delayed the presen- 
tation of Monroe to Bonaparte until May 1, and 
even then failed to be personally present, leav- 
ing to Livingston the ceremonious duty of nam- 
ing his colleague. Probably he was annoyed 
that the First Consul agreed with Marbois, and 
had given to him the authority to proceed. 

Livingston and Monroe, after reviewing the 
situation, made up their minds that they could 
give fifty millions, and, in the bargaining spirit 
which governed both sides, offered forty mil- 
lions, one half to be returned to American 
claimants. Marbois expressed his regret that 
they could not give more, and proposed to 
consult the Consul. He came back from St. 
Cloud, saying that the business might be con- 
sidered as no longer in his hands, so coolly had 
Bonaparte received their proposition. He ad- 
vised that some pressure be brought to bear 
upon Talleyrand in order to secure the early 
presentation of Monroe. Later in the day 
Marbois came in to a dinner which Cambace'res 
was giving, and told the American envoys that 
if the Consul did not reopen the question they 
might consider the plan relinquished. They 
quickly proceeded to offer fifty millions. Mar- 
bois doubted whether this would be accepted. 
6 



82 JAMES MONROE. 

Here came a significant pause lasting for several 
days. " We were resting on our oars," says 
one of the negotiators. 

On April 17 Bonaparte made an official an- 
nouncement to the Pope and others that in con- 
sequence of England's violation of the Peace 
of Amiens, France was involved in war with 
her. It is easy to see the bearing of this on 
the American negotiations. Ten days later 
Marbois laid before Livingston and Monroe 
the draft of a treaty given him by the govern- 
ment, 1 and another, his own. In the latter he 
proposed as the price eighty million francs, 
which was to include the sum requisite for the 
American claimants. Our envoys offered fifty 
millions and twenty more for the claimants, 
but at last acceded to the figures of Marbois. 

This concluded the business. Marbois tells 
us that Bonaparte when he heard what sum 
had been agreed upon received the intelligence 
with opposition. He had forgotten or feigned 
to forget his original willingness to sell for fifty 
millions, and he objected to the allowance of 
twenty millions to the American suitors ; but 
he soon grew calmer and acquiesced in the ces- 

1 In the Correspondence de Napoleon, vol. viii., the projet of 
a secret convention between France and the United States ia 
printed (without signature), dated April 23, 1803, from the 
Archives de France. 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 83 

sion. " I have given to England," he said ex- 
ultingly, " a maritime rival which will sooner 
or later humble her pride." Some details were 
worked out in respect to the mode of payment ; 
Monroe's presentation to the Consul soon fol- 
lowed ; and at length, May 2, the plenipoten- 
tiaries signed the French copy of the treaty, 
and two or three days later the copy in Eng- 
lish. On the thirteenth of the month a ratified 
copy was transmitted to Madison. Two con- 
ventions proceeded from the treaty of cession, 
the first in respect to the mode of payment for 
the cession ; the second in respect to American 
claims. 

As soon as they had signed the treaty the 
plenipotentiaries rose and shook hands, when 
Livingston said, expressing the general satisfac- 
tion, " we have lived long, but this is the no- 
blest work of our whole lives." 1 This harmo- 
nious conclusion was not reached without some 
personal rivalry (if jealousy is too harsh a term 
to be employed) between the American repre- 
sentatives ; and there is a long letter still extant 
in which Monroe recounts the embarrassments 
of the situation arising from the conduct of his 
colleague. But their personal feelings were 
fortunately kept in the background until the 

1 His speech as reported by Marbois, p. 310, is full of inter- 
est. 



84 JAMES MONROE. 

business was concluded, although they may be 
incidentally traced in their public and official 
correspondence. 1 

On May 21 Marbois received the following 
letter of acknowledgment : 2 — 

" Sur les 240,000 francs, Citoyen Ministre, que 
doivent les six banquiers du tresor public, 48,000 
francs seront donnes en gratification, conformement a 
ma lettre de ce jour ; 192,000 francs seront a votre 
disposition pour suppleer a l'insuffisance de votre 
traitement, ayant l'intention que vous voyiez dans 
cette disposition le desir que j'ai de vous temoigner 
ma satisfaction de vos travaux importants et du bon 
ordre que vous avez mis dans votre ministere, qui ont 
valu a la Republique un grand nombre de millions. 

" Bonaparte." 

Monroe took leave of Bonaparte June 24, 
having been presented to him for this purpose 
by Talleyrand at St. Cloud. The First Consul 
asked if he were about going to London, and 
Monroe replied that he had lately received 
the orders of the President, in case our affairs 
here were amicably adjusted, to repair to Lon- 
don ; that the resignation of our minister there, 
and the want of a charge, made it necessary to 
go at once. He then gave a formal expression 
of American good-will ; to which Bonaparte re- 

1 Monroe MSS. 

2 Correspondance de NapoUon Ir. An XI. (1803). 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 85 

plied that " no one wished more than himself 
the preservation of a good understanding ; 
that the cession he had made was not so much 
on account of the price given as from motives 
of policy; and that he wished for friendship 
between the republics." 1 

In the progress of this affair the French had 
promised the Americans to exert their good in- 
fluences with Spain to induce her to yield the 
Floridas, — the limit separating these posses- 
sions from Louisiana being then in dispute. 
Monroe, as soon as the Louisiana purchase was 
completed, determined to go to Madrid and treat 
for the Floridas, but Cambaceres, who heard 
him say this one day at dinner, almost forbade 
him, for reasons which were not quite easy to be 
discovered. He accordingly called on the Span- 
ish minister, and there to his surprise he found 
that Livingston had already begun that negoti- 
ation with Spain which Monroe had been espe- 
cialty charged to undertake. This led to serious 
explanations between the two American en- 
voys. Monroe postponed his visit to Spain and 
went to London. He had left the United 
States accredited to France, Spain and Eng- 
land, — the commission to the Court of St. 
James having been an afterthought, and dated 
three months later. 

1 Monroe MSS. 



86 - JAMES MONROE 

As a sequel to this narrative, the following 
letter to Marbois from Monroe will be read with 
interest i 1 — 

"London, February 14, 1804. 

" My last letter from the Secretary of State (of De- 
cember 26) mentioned that Louisiana was surrendered 
to the Prefect of France the latter end of November, 
who was to transfer it to the commissioners of the 
United States on their arrival at New Orleans, which 
was expected in a day or two from that date. Mr. 
Madison adds that he considers all difficulties on that 
subject as happily terminated. Mr. B. is expected 
here daily with everything belonging to a complete 
execution of this transaction. In the mean time I am 
pursuaded that the house in Holland will consider it 
as concluded and act accordingly. 

" It gives me pleasure to observe that the prompt 
and unconditional exchange of ratifications by your 
charge des affaires at Washington, and his correct 
conduct in promoting the transfer of the territory of 
the United States, in obedience to the orders of his 
government, are unequivocal proofs of the good faith 
with which the treaties were formed. The manner 
in which the President expressed himself in his mes- 
sage to Congress of the enlarged liberty and friendly 
policy which governed the First Consul in the trans- 
action, shows in strong terms the sense which he 
entertains of it. May it seal forever the friendship 
of the two nations. To have been in any degree in- 
strumental to that important result, is one of the cir- 

Monroe MSS. 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 87 

cumstances of my life which will always give me the 
highest satisfaction. In society with my respectable 
colleague, to have met an old friend on the other 
side, who had experienced, as well as myself, some 
vicissitudes in the extraordinary movements of the 
epoch in which we live, is an incident which adds not 
a little to the gratification which I derive from the 
event. 

" You have doubtless heard that Jerome Bonaparte 
is married to Miss Patterson of Baltimore. Her fa- 
ther is one of the most respectable citizens of that town 
or rather of the State of Maryland. Her mother 
is a sister of General Smith, a member of the Senate 
of the United States, the officer who defended Mud 
Island below Philadelphia in our Revolution. The 
connection is every way as respectable as he could 
have formed in the United States. The young lady 
is amiable, very handsome, and perfectly innocent. 
The bearer of this is her brother, who goes to Paris 
from this place, to carry a letter from Jerome to the 
First Consul, which was transmitted to me by her 
father. As he has also written to Mr. Livingston, I 
inclose to him the letter to the First Consul, as he 
might expect that the communication should be made 
through him. Nevertheless, I have taken the liberty 
to present to you the young man, and apprise you of 
the above facts, in confidence that you will make such 
friendly representations of the affair as you may find 
necessary." 

The letter concludes with messages of private 
friendship. 



88 JAMES MONROE. 

Livingston was never quite at his ease in re- 
spect to Monroe. He naturally felt some cha- 
grin in not being allowed to conclude, without 
the support of a fresh colleague, the negotia- 
tion he had undertaken, and he was careful not 
to yield any of his own prerogatives or to con- 
ceal his own services. The apprehensions un- 
der which he opened his correspondence with 
Monroe, on the latter's arrival in Havre, he 
subsequently explained as due to the dissimula- 
tions of Talleyrand. These were his explana- 
tions to Madison : l — 

" I have in my former letter informed you of M. 
Talleyrand's calling upon me, previous to the arrival 
of Mr. Monroe, for a proposition for the whole of 
Louisiana; of his afterwards trifling with me, and 
telling me that what he said was unauthorized. This 
circumstance, for which I have accounted to you in 
one of my letters, led me to think, though it after- 
wards appeared without reason, that some change 
had taken place in the determination which I knew 
the Consul had before taken to sell. I had just then 
received a line from Mr. Monroe, informing me of 
his arrival. I wrote to him a hasty answer, under 
the influence of ideas excited by these prevarications 
of the minister, expressing the hope that he had 
brought information that New Orleans was in our 
possession ; that I hoped our negotiation might be 
successful ; but that, while I feared nothing but war 

l November 15, 1803. 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 89 

would avail us anything, I had paved the way for him. 
This letter is very imprudently shown and spoken of 
by Mr. Monroe's particular friends as a proof that 
he had been the principal agent in the negotiation. 
So far, indeed, as it may tend to this object, it is of 
little moment, because facts and dates are too well 
known to be contradicted. For instance, it is known 
to everybody here that the Consul had taken his re- 
solution to sell previous to Mr. Monroe's arrival. It 
is a fact well known that M. Marbois was authorized, 
informally, by the First Consul, to treat with me, 
before Mr. Monroe reached Paris ; that he actually 
made me the very proposition we ultimately agreed 
to, before Mr. Monroe had seen a minister, except 
M. Marbois, for a moment, at my house, where he 
came to make the proposition, Mr. Monroe not hav- 
ing been presented to M. Talleyrand, to whom I in- 
troduced him the afternoon of the next day. All, 
then, that remained to negotiate, after his arrival, 
was a diminution of the price, and in this our joint 
mission was unfortunate ; for we came up, as soon as 
Mr. Monroe's illness would suffer him to do busi- 
ness, after a few days delay, to the minister's offers. 
There is no doubt that Mr. Monroe's talents and ad- 
dress would have enabled him, had he been placed in 
my circumstances, to have effected what I have done. 
But he, unfortunatelv, came too late to do more than 
assent to the propositions that were made us, and to 
aid in reducing them to form. I think he has too 
much candor not to be displeased that his friends 
should publicly endeavor to depreciate me by speak- 



90 JAMES MONROE. 

ing of a private letter, hastily written, under circum- 
stances of irritation with which Mr. Monroe is fully 
acquainted ; a letter, too, which may contribute in 
two ways to advance the views of the enemies of the 
administration. It is in this light only that it gives 
me pain." 

In looking over this extraordinary chapter 
in history, which records probably the largest 
transaction in real estate which the world has 
ever known, it is interesting to trace the con- 
currence of so many factors. The ambition of 
Napoleon, the sagacity of Jefferson, the diplo- 
macy of Talleyrand and Marbois, the caution 
of Livingston, the enthusiasm of Monroe, were 
all manifested in the sale of a part of the North 
American continent, the boundaries of which 
were uncertain, the title insecure, and the price 
incapable of being determined by any market 
standard nearer than " the cost of Etruria," 
which was the price of the cession of Louisiana 
by Spain. Yet back of these personal influ- 
ences were great ideas controlling the action of 
vigorous nations ; there was the English deter- 
mination to put down the rising dominion of 
Napoleon ; there was the willingness of Spain 
to give up New Orleans ; there was the Amer- 
ican resolution to secure, by diplomacy or by 
force, the Mississippi outlet ; there was the 
readiness of France to prevent the seizure of 



ENVOY IN FRANCE. 91 

New Orleans by the English, and to build up 
in the new world a powerful rival to Great 
Britain. France was enough involved with 
financial difficulties to need money ; the United 
States, by a wise financial policy, was in good 
credit at Amsterdam ; and so, when the price 
had been fixed, there was no trouble about pay- 
ment, and no delay in the transfer. 

Nobody could foretell the momentous conse- 
quences which would proceed from this sale. 
Bonaparte thought that two or three hundred 
years later American influence might be over- 
powering, a contingency so remote that even 
his aspirations were not affected by it ; and Jef- 
ferson was far-seeing enough to devise an ex- 
ploring expedition which should proceed to the 
extreme Northwest and report with as much 
precision as the science of the day would per- 
mit in respect to the sources of the great rivers. 
But this was all. Beyond the Mississippi was 
a land unknown. The Americans did not ask 
for it, and Livingston comforted himself with 
the thought that perhaps a part of it could be 
resold ; France pressed its purchase on those 
who were only asking for New Orleans and the 
Floridas. By this marvellous combination of 
circumstances Louisiana, including the far 
northwest, became ours. 

The subsequent history of the United States 



92 JAMES MONROE. 

'has been closely connected with this famous ac- 
quisition. The Missouri compromise, the an- 
nexation of Texas, the Northwestern boundary 
disputes, the acquisition of California and of 
the northern provinces of Mexico, the discovery 
of gold and silver, the Nebraska bill, the Mor- 
mon difficulty, the Indian policy, the Alaska 
purchase, the Pacific railroads, the isthmus canal 
question, the Chinese immigration, — who can 
say that any one of these controversies and 
events would ever have come to the front if 
Spain, or France, or Great Britain had re- 
mained in control of that half of our domain 
which lies beyond the Mississippi ? 

Among the concurrent circumstances there is 
none so extraordinary to us who are accus- 
tomed to constitutional limitations, as the arbi- 
trary power then held in France by one who 
was still a young man, and who, a few years 
previous (at the beginning, let us say, of Mon- 
roe's first mission), was comparatively unknown, 
and without the slightest prescience of his com- 
ing authority. The memoirs of Marbois, Liv- 
ingston, and Monroe, and the correspondence 
of Napoleon, do not give any indication that 
the First Consul, in this far-reaching exercise of 
his authority, was guided by the opinion of a 
cabinet or council, or restricted by any funda- 
mental law. He speaks to Marbois in the sin- 



ENVOY IN ENGLAND. 93 

gular number, like the owner of a house or 
farm, as if he were, indeed, the personification 
of France. He does, it is true, consult two min- 
isters of state, but he turns abruptly away from 
the advice of one of them, and to the other he 
gives directions as positive and arbitrary as if 
he were directing a broker to sell a cargo. The 
mighty deeds of Napoleon's sword have been 
undone, but the stroke of his pen wrought a 
change which now, after fourscore years have 
passed, is no more liable to counterchange than 
the Mississippi is to flow into the lakes. 

Soon after Monroe's arrival in England he 
received from Madison, the Secretary of State, 
the plan of a convention to be proposed to the 
British government, with particular reference 
to our maritime rights. We had suffered so 
much from impressment of seamen, blockade, 
and the search of our vessels, that it was quite 
time to insist on the national claims. Early in 
April, 1804, the subject was brought to the at- 
tention of Lord Hawkesbury ; but before any 
response was received Addington had yielded 
the leadership to Pitt, and Lord Harrowby had 
taken the foreign office. He received Monroe 
in a manner which was fitted to wound and 
irritate ; not a friendly sentiment toward the 
United States escaped him ; and the American 



94 JAMES MONROE. 

minister considered these concerns as postponed 
indefinitely. Before autumn the Foreign Minis- 
ter grew more conciliatory, but no conclusions 
were reached at the beginning of October, when, 
by mutual consent, the negotiations were post- 
poned, and Monroe left London on an absence 
of several months. 

Looking forward to a release from the pub- 
lic service, Monroe wrote to Judge Jones from 
London (May 16, 1804), saying that he should 
gather a collection of law books and bring them 
home with a view to continuing the practice of 
the law. He hoped that thus, with the aid of a 
farm, he might gain enough to support a family 
without the aid of other resources. He indicated 
his strong preference for Richmond and directed 
the sale of his land above Charlottesville, as it 
brought no income. He said he could live better 
on $2,000 per year in Richmond than on £2,000 
in London. He had thought seriously of accept- 
ing the appointment in Louisiana which Madison 
was willing to give him, though the administra- 
tion seemed to prefer that he should remain in 
London. Jefferson intimated that he might be 
sent to Spain. The whole tenor of the letter is 
that of one who is longing for repose at home, 
suffering from fatigue and poor health abroad, 
and in w r ant of sufficient means to maintain 
agreeably his diplomatic station. 1 

1 Gouverneur MSS. 



ENVOY IN ENGLAND. 95 

It will be remembered that he went from 
the United States commissioned to Spain as 
well as France, but did not continue his jour- 
ney to Madrid. In the autumn of 1804 he 
resumed the proposed negotiation with Spain, 
and, as he went through Paris, solicited from 
Talleyrand the French support in his endeavor 
to secure from the Spaniards the cession of their 
possessions to the east of the mouths of the 
Mississippi. The exact eastern boundary of 
the Louisiana territory already acquired by the 
United States was undetermined, and Florida 
was wanted. Months previous Napoleon had 
pledged his good offices in the promotion of 
the plans of the United States, but when they 
were now solicited he failed to make the ex- 
pected response, although cautiously warned that 
there was danger of an immediate rupture be- 
tween Spain and the United States, which 
would, indirectly at least, be harmful to France. 
Monroe and Pinckney accordingly prosecuted 
their mission as best they could without the 
French cooperation. From January to May 
they were in constant negotiation with the 
Spanish minister, Don Pedro Cevallos, — but 
it all resulted in nothing and Monroe returned 
to his residence in London. 

Lord Mulgrave was now in the foreign office. 
New seizures of American vessels by the British 



96 JAMES MONROE 

gave renewed emphasis to the American com- 
plaints, which were met with dilatory and pro- 
voking responses. The death of Pitt brought 
about another change of ministry early in 1806, 
and the whole story of our demands was pre- 
sented to the more friendly consideration of Fox, 
who promised to give his immediate attention 
to the business and pursue it without delay until 
it was concluded. But he again encountered 
obstacles among his colleagues. Meanwhile, as 
Monroe had been sent to reinforce other minis- 
ters, Wm. Pinkney was sent to reinforce Mon- 
roe. He had previously been resident in London 
for a long time, and had pressed to a success- 
ful issue the claims of the State of Maryland 
to some stock in the Bank of England. He 
had held the office of commissioner under the 
treaty of 1794. The joint commission of the 
two envoys was dated May 17, 1806, and cov- 
ered a larger field of negotiation and conven- 
tion than that which had been intrusted to 
Monroe alone. Their early communications to 
Madison contained the same old story of delay. 
Fox was now ill beyond the hope of recov- 
ery, and the good offices of his nephew, Lord 
Holland, were solicited to secure an official rec- 
ognition from the King. Lord Grenville now 
assumed the direction of affairs, and he soon 
informed the Americans that Lord Auckland 



ENVOY IN ENGLAND. 97 

and Lord Holland were appointed as a special 
commission to discuss all matters pending be- 
tween the two governments. Toward the end 
of August, 1806, serious negotiations began in 
Downing Street, and as the last day of the 
year was reached, these wearisome and complex 
deliberations were concluded by a treaty. This 
was forwarded to Washington at once by the 
hand of Mr. Purviance, but it did not reach 
Mr. Jefferson until March 15. Twelve days be- 
fore, on March 3, just before the adjournment 
of Congress, the President saw a copy of the 
treaty which Mr. Erskine, the British minister, 
had received. 1 

v Long as the negotiations had been, and vo- 
luminous as were the results, the treaty failed in 
two fundamental points. It made no provision 
against the impressment of our seamen ; and it 
secured no indemnity for losses which Ameri- 
cans had incurred in the seizure of their goods 
and vessels. Jefferson " pigeon-holed " it. He 
took the responsibility, without summoning the 
Senate, to withhold his ratification. When it 
became evident that this would be the result, 
the Secretary of State wrote to the commis- 
sioners that the President thought it better, if 
no satisfactory or formal stipulation on the sub- 
ject of impressment were attainable, that the 

1 J. Q. Adams's Diary, i. 466. 
7 



98 JAMES MONROE. 

negotiation should terminate without any for- 
mal compact whatever. A fresh draft of the 
American expectations was then drawn up, 
upon which the two envoys might renew their 
negotiations. 

In his memoirs of the Whig party Lord 
Holland has given a graphic picture of the 
American commissioners, and of the attitude of 
the English government, which may here be 
quoted : — 

" "Without notice or explanation, an order for de- 
taining all neutrals engaged in such a commerce was 
suddenly issued ; and a prodigious number of Ameri- 
cans were brought into our ports by his majesty's 
cruisers in the summer and autumn of 1805. The 
principle of these seizures was not likely to be very 
readily admitted by any independent power whose 
subjects had suffered by the application of it. The 
sudden and peremptory manner of enforcing it was 
yet more offensive, and aggravated that hostile feel- 
ing which long mismanagement on our part, and some 
folly on theirs, had created in the leading party in 
North America. Mr. Monroe and Mr. Pinkney 
were instructed to insist on an explanation upon this 
important point, on some regulation of the impress- 
ment of British seamen found in American merchant 
vessels, on the right and practice of searching for 
them at sea, and on many other inferior but difficult 
subjects. When, however, the death of Mr. Pitt 
was known, the spirit, though not the substance, of 



ENVOY IN ENGLAND. 99 

their instructions was softened, and the mission was 
authorized to assume a more conciliatory tone than 
their original instructions seemed to breathe. The 
two gentlemen were empowered to negotiate and 
conclude a treaty of commerce which should regulate 
all disputed points, and place the two countries per- 
manently on a more amicable footing. We found 
the two American commissioners fair, explicit, frank, 
and intelligent. Mr. Monroe (afterwards president) 
was a sincere Republican, who during the Revolution 
in France had imbibed a strong predilection for that 
country, and no slight aversion to this. But he had 
candor and principle. A nearer view of the consu- 
lar and imperial government of France, and of our 
Constitution in England, converted him from both 
these opinions. 'I find,' said he to me, < your 
monarchy more republican than monarchical, and 
the French republic infinitely more monarchical than 
your monarchy.' He was plain in his manners and 
somewhat slow in his apprehension ; but he was a 
diligent, earnest, sensible, and even profound man. 
His colleague, who had been partly educated in Eng- 
land and was a lawyer by profession, had more of the 
forms and readiness of business, and greater knowl- 
edge and cultivation of mind ; but perhaps his opin- 
ions were neither so firmly rooted nor so deeply con- 
sidered as those of Mr. Monroe. Throughout our 
negotiation they were conciliatory, both in form and 
in substance. They exceeded their instructions by 
signing a treaty which left the article of impressment 
unsettled. My colleague and I took credit to ourselves 



100 JAMES MONROE. 

for having convinced them of the extreme difficulty 
of the subject, arising from the impossibility of our 
allowing seamen to withdraw themselves from our 
service during war, and from the in efficacy of all the 
regulations which they had been enabled to propose 
for preventing their entering into American ships. 
They, on the other hand, persuaded us that they were 
themselves sincere in wishing to prevent it ; and we 
saw no reason for suspecting that the government of 
the United States was less so. But though they pro- 
fessed, and I believe felt, a strong wish to enforce 
such a provision, they did not convince us that they 
had the power or means of enforcing it. There 
was, consequently, no article in the treaty upon the 
subject. Upon this omission and upon other more 
frivolous pretexts, but with the real purpose and 
effect of defeating Mr. Monroe's views on the pres- 
identship, Mr. Jefferson refused to ratify a treaty 
which would have secured his countrymen from all 
further vexations, and prevented a war between two 
nations, whose habits, language, and interests should 
unite them in perpetual alliance and good-fellowship. 
" I had an opportunity during this negotiation of 
observing the influence of situation over men's opin- 
ions. The atmosphere of the Admiralty made those 
who breathed it shudder at anything like concessions 
to the Americans ; while the anxiety to avoid war 
and to enlarge our resources by commerce, so natu- 
ral in the Treasury, softened natures otherwise less 
yielding, and led them to listen with favor to every 
conciliatory expedient." 



ENVOY IN ENGLAND. 101 

Events were driving the two nations into a 
collision which might have been averted by di- 
plomacy, but which soon developed into war. 
On July 24 the American commissioners, in ac- 
cordance with their instructions, had reopened 
a correspondence with Mr. Canning, now for- 
eign secretary in the Portland ministry, and on 
the very next day intelligence was received in 
London that the British ship Leopard, assert- 
ing the right to search for deserters, had at- 
tacked the American frigate Chesapeake, off 
the Chesapeake capes. 1 Of course this brought 
still more delay. After the settlement of this 
aggression had been transferred from London 
to Washington, the treaty was again brought 
up for reconsideration by the British minister 
in October. Before much progress could be 
made, the famous "orders in council," full of 
menace to American commerce, were passed, 
and remonstrances against them were presented 
by Pinkney, who now assumed the entire re- 
sponsibility of the legation. 

Monroe returned to America near the close 
of 1807, and soon drew up an elaborate defence 
of his diplomatic conduct in England in a let- 
ter to Madison, which covers ten folio pages of 
the State Papers. 2 The enthusiasm with which 
he might have been received immediately after 

1 June 23, 1807. 2 February 28, 1808. 



102 JAMES MONROE. 

the Louisiana purchase was dampened by his 
failure in the English negotiations. Politicians 
were already discussing the presidential suc- 
cession, the Republican party being divided in 
their preferences for Madison and Monroe. Jef- 
ferson endeavored to remain neutral ; Wirt was 
in favor of Madison ; at length the legislature 
of Virginia settled the choice by pronouncing 
in favor of the latter. Monroe's friends acqui- 
esced. Soon afterwards Madison was placed in 
the chair of the president, and Monroe, after a 
brief interval, was reelected to the post of gov- 
ernor. It was a mark of the confidence of 
those who knew him best that thus a second 
time, on his return from a foreign land, more 
or less disappointed, if not under a cloud, he 
should be called to the highest office in the gift 
of the people of the State. 

I cannot discover that the failure of Monroe 
to accomplish the purpose of his mission to 
Spain and England indicates any want of in- 
telligence, assiduity, or fidelity on his part. Al- 
though there is a curious gap in the published 
papers just before his departure for England, 
I do not see any evidence that the administra- 
tion lost their confidence in him. He failed be- 
cause the times were not propitious for success. 
Spain was not ready to give up the Floridas. 
England was determined not to yield the right 






ENVOY IN ENGLAND. 103 

of search ; not even after a disastrous war would 
she acknowledge the wrongs against which the 
United States protested. During Monroe's 
short mission to London he was obliged to be 
absent from that city several months, and he 
was actually brought into negotiations with six 
successive foreign secretaries, besides the two 
special commissioners ; and these secretaries 
were involved in the perplexities which arose 
from prolonged hostilities with a most vigorous 
foe. The delays which were thus occasioned 
may have been inevitable, but they were very 
costly. War followed in their train. 



CHAPTER V. 

SECRETARY OF STATE AND OF WAR. 

Madison became President in 1809. Mon- 
roe, who had been a rival aspirant for the office, 
was called to the post of secretary of state in 
1811, as the successor of Robert Smith of Mary- 
land. His associates in the cabinet at that time 
were Gallatin, Eustis, Paul Hamilton, and, a lit- 
tle later, William Pinkney. The war which for 
several years had seemed inevitable was now 
imminent. Congress indicated a desire for posi- 
tive measures, and although the President still 
favored peace, bills were passed for augmenting 
the army and navy, for enlisting volunteers, 
and for organizing the militia. The adminis- 
tration was floated onward by the current of 
public opinion. The British " orders in coun- 
cil " were the immediate occasion of this spirit 
of resistance, but the troubles had begun long 
before. After hearing Mr. Perceval's public 
declaration in February, 1812, that England 
could not listen to the pretensions of neutral 
nations, the American minister in London, Mr. 
Russell, wrote home that war could not honor- 



SECRETARY OF STATE AND OF WAR. 105 

ably be avoided. This expectation soon became 
a fact, and war was declared on June 18, 1812. 
It was a curious coincidence that the act of dec- 
laration was drawn by William Pinkney, and 
communicated to England by James Monroe, 
the two commissioners in London whose efforts 
to maintain peace by a reasonable treaty had 
been unsuccessful a few years before. 

Then followed a long period of tumult, dis- 
aster, and victory, the story of which has been 
so often told that it will here be referred to 
only in illustration of the life of Monroe. 
Even this part of his history is so well known 
that I cannot shed any new light upon it. As 
Secretary of State his duties were not at the be- 
ginning more complex than the ordinary, but he 
was afterwards charged with the additional re- 
sponsibilities of the War Department, and thus 
his position became doubly powerful and diffi- 
cult. Monroe — who was commonly designated 
by his military title, and who had the renown of 
brave service in the Revolution — seriously de- 
liberated whether he should take the field in 
person, as a volunteer, if not to command ; but 
he restrained his military ardor. 

During the summer and autumn of 1811 
the Secretary of State was engaged in a brisk 
correspondence with Mr. Foster, the British 
minister in Washington. His most extended 



106 JAMES MONROE. 

dispatch was that of July 23, in which he vig- 
orously defends the rights of neutrals. His 
concluding sentences have an eloquent ring. 
" It is the interest of belligerents," he argues, 
" to mitigate the calamities of war, and neutral 
powers possess ample means to promote that 
object, provided they sustain, with impartiality 
and firmness, the dignity of their station. If 
belligerents expect advantage from neutrals, 
they should leave them in the full enjoyment 
of their rights. The present war has been op- 
pressive beyond example by its duration, and 
by the desolation it has spread throughout 
Europe. It is highly important that it should 
assume at least a milder character. By the 
revocation of the French edicts, so far as they 
respected the neutral commerce of the United 
States, some advance is made towards that 
most desirable and consoling result. Let Great 
Britain follow the example. The ground thus 
gained will soon be enlarged by the concurring 
and pressing interests of all parties ; and what- 
ever is gained will accrue to the advantage of 
afflicted humanity." 1 Six months later (Janu- 
ary 14, 1812) he writes again to Mr. Foster, 
complaining that in the conduct of the British 
government it is impossible to see anything 
short of a determined hostility to the rights 
and interests of the United States. 

1 State Papers, iii. 



SECRETARY OF STATE AND OF WAR. 107 

The relations of the United States with 
France also required careful attention from the 
Secretary, though they were less critical than 
those with England. Barlow was commissioned 
as minister to the Emperor of the French, and 
the Secretary, July 26, 1811, gave him ex- 
tended instructions with reference to the claims 
of the United States. France, he assumes, has 
changed her policy towards the United States, 
as the revocation of her decrees indicates, but 
much is yet to be done by her to satisfy Amer- 
ican claims. "If she wishes to profit of neutral 
commerce she must become the advocate of 
neutral rights, as well by her practice as by her 
theory." Such was the message sent to the 
Emperor, and it had some influence upon his 
subsequent action. A treaty of commerce was 
proposed; but as delay was expected in ne- 
gotiating it, Barlow endeavored to secure an 
official memorandum of the agreement of the 
two Powers, but was obliged to be content with 
general assurances from the Emperor, that the 
principles contended for were adopted and would 
be put in operation. 1 

The inauspicious opening of the war is a fa- 
miliar story. Much of the blame for the disas- 
ters which occurred was thrown upon the Sec- 
retary of War, Dr. Eustis, a surgeon in the 

l State Papers, iii. 516. 



108 JAMES MONROE. 

Revolutionary army, who at length gave way. 
Monroe acted ad interim until the appointment 
of General John Armstrong, who had held the 
rank of major in the Revolutionary army, and 
had since then been called to many conspicuous 
public stations, among them that of minister to 
France. The war did not go much better after 
the change in the secretary's office. Monroe 
looked with great suspicion on his colleague's 
conduct of affairs, and at length addressed the 
President as follows, after a short conversation 
the evening previous : 1 — 

JAMES MONROE TO PRESIDENT MADISON. 

July 25, \S13. 
You intimated that you had understood that Gen- 
eral Armstrong intended to repair to the northern 
frontiers and to direct the operations of the cam- 
paign ; and it was afterwards suggested to me that 
he would, as Secretary at War, perform the duties of 
lieutenant-general. It merits consideration how far 
the exercise of such a power is strictly constitutional 
and correct in itself ; and secondly, how far it may 
affect the character of your administration and of 
those acting in it; and thirdly, whether it is not 
otherwise liable to objection on the ground of pol- 
icy. I shall be able to present to your consideration 
a few hints only on each of these propositions. The 
departments of the government, being recognized by 

i Monroe MSS. 



SECRETARY OF STATE AND OF WAR. 109 

the Constitution, have appropriate duties under it as 
organs of the executive will ; they contain records of 
its transactions, and are in that sense checks on the 
Executive. If the Secretary of War leaves the seat 
of government (the chief magistrate remaining there) 
and performs the duties of a general, the powers of 
the chief magistrate, of the Secretary at War, and 
general are all united in the latter. There ceases to 
be a check on executive power as to military opera- 
tions ; indeed, the executive power as known to the 
Constitution is destroyed; the whole is transferred 
from the Executive to the general at the head of the 
army. It is completely absorbed in hands where it is 
most dangerous. 

It may be said that the President is commander-in- 
chief ; that the Secretary at War is his organ as to 
military operations, and that he may allow him to go 
to the army, as being well informed in military affairs, 
and act for himself. I am inclined to think that the 
President, unless he takes the command of the army 
in person, acts, in directing its movements, more as the 
executive power than as commander-in-chief. What 
would become of the Secretary at War if the Presi- 
dent took command of the army, I do not know. I 
rather suppose, however, that although some of his 
powers would be transferred to the military staff 
about the President, he would, nevertheless, retain 
his appropriate constitutional character in all other 
respects. The Adjutant-General would become the 
organ of the Executive as to military operations, but 
the Secretary of War would be that for every other 



110 JAMES MONROE. 

measure, indeed for all except movements in the 
field. The Department at War would therefore still 
form some check on the Executive at the head of the 
army, but there would be none on the Secretary, 
when he was general. 

On the second head, the effect it might have on 
the credit of your administration, there can be little 
doubt. If there is cause to suspect the measure on 
constitutional grounds, that circumstance alone would 
wound its credit deeply. But a total yielding of the 
power, as would be inferred, and might and proba- 
bly would be assumed (for any act which would be 
performed or order given without the sanction of 
the chief magistrate would, in a degree, operate in 
that way) , would affect it in another sense not less in- 
juriously. It is impossible for the Secretary at War 
to go to the frontier, and perform the offices con- 
templated, without exercising all those of the mili- 
tary commander, especially. He would carry with 
him, of course, those of the War Department, for by 
the powers of that department would he act as 
general, and control all military and other opera- 
tions, and being forced to act by circumstances and 
take his measures by the day, he could have no 
order or sanction from the chief magistrate. This 
would be seen by the public and imperil greatly the 
credit of the administration. If General Armstrong 
is the person most fit to command the armies let him 
be appointed such ; there will then be a check on 
him in the chief magistrate and in the War Depart- 
ment. Does he possess in a prominent degree the 



SECRETARY OF STATE AND OF WAR. HI 

public confidence for that trust ? Do we not know 
the fact to be otherwise, that it was with difficulty 
he was appointed a brigadier-general, and still greater 
difficulty that he was appointed Secretary at War? 

On the ground of policy I have already made some 
remarks ; but there are other objections to it on that 
ground. If he withdraws from the seat of govern- 
ment, and takes his station with the northern troops, 
what will become of every other army, — that under 
Harrison, Pinckney, and Wilkinson, and of those 
stationed in other quarters, especially along the coast ? 
Who will direct the general movement, supervise 
their supplies, etc. ? 

I cannot close these remarks without adding some- 
thing in relation to myself. Stimulated by a deep 
sense of the misfortunes of our country, as well as 
its disgrace by the surrender of Hull, the misconduct 
of Van Rensselaer and Smyth, and by the total want 
of character in the northern campaign, and dreading 
its effects on your administration, on the Republican 
party and cause, I have repeatedly offered my service 
in a military station, not that I wished to take it by 
preference to my present one, which to all others I 
prefer, but from a dread of the consequences above- 
mentioned. 

I was willing to take the Department of War per- 
manently, if, in leaving my present station, it was 
thought I might be more useful there than in a mili- 
tary command. I thought otherwise. What passed 
on this subject proves that I considered the Depart- 
ment of War as a very different trust from that of the 
military commander. 



112 JAMES MONROE. 

You appeared to think I might be more useful 
with the army, as did Mr. Gallatin, with whom I con- 
ferred on the subject. I was convinced that the du- 
ties of Secretary of War and military commander 
were not only incompatible under our government, 
but that they could not be exercised by the same 
person. I was equally satisfied that the Secretary at 
War could not perform, in his character as secretary, 
the duties of general of the army. The movement 
of the army must be regulated daily by events which 
occur daily, and the movement of all its parts, to be 
combined and simultaneous, must be under the con- 
trol of the general in the field, not of the War 
Department. That this is the opinion of General 
Armstrong also, is evident from his disposition to join 
the army. He knows that here he cannot direct the 
movements of the armies. He knows also that he 
could not be appointed the lieutenant-general, and 
that it is only in his present character as Secretary 
at War that he can expect to exercise his functions 
of general. 

As soon as General Armstrong took charge of the 
Department at War I thought I saw his plan, that is, 
after he had held it a few days. I saw distinctly 
that he intended to have no grade in the army which 
should be competent to a general control of military 
operations ; that he meant to keep the whole in his 
own hands ; that each operation should be distinct 
and separate, with distinct and separate objects, and, 
of course, to be directed by himself, not simply in 
the outline but detail. I anticipated mischief from 
this, because I knew that the movement could not be 



SECRETARY OF STATE AND OF WAR. 113 

directed from this place ; I did not then anticipate the 
remedy which he had in view. 

I was animated by much zeal (in offering my ser- 
vices in a military station) in favor of your adminis- 
tration and the cause of free government, which I 
have long considered intimately connected together. 
I flattered myself that by my long services, and 
what the country knew of me, that I should give 
some impulse to the recruiting business, and other- 
wise aid the cause. The misfortunes and dangers 
attending the cause produced so much excitement 
that my zeal may have exposed me to the appear- 
ance of repulse and disappointment in the course 
things have taken. But, as I well know that you 
have justly appreciated my motives, and that the 
public cannot fail to do it, should any imputation of 
the kind alluded to be made, these are considerations 
which have no effect on my mind. 

Having seen into these things, from my little 
knowledge of military affairs and the management 
of the War Department for some weeks (which gave 
me a knowledge of the state of things there), and 
foreseeing some danger to your administration as 
well as to the public interest, from the causes above 
stated, I have felt it a duty which I owe to you, as 
well as to the public, to communicate to you my senti- 
ments on them. I have written them in much truth 
and without reserve. You will, I am satisfied, bestow 
on them the consideration which they deserve. 

I am, dear sir, sincerely and respectfully your friend, 

James Monroe. 
8 



114 JAMES MONROE. 

I will add that I cease to have any desire of a mil- 
itary station, having never wished one with a view to 
myself, and always under a conviction that I should 
incur risks and make sacrifices by it ; it is in conse- 
quence of feeling it strongly my duty that I entirely 
relinquish the idea. These hints are intended to 
bring to your consideration the other circumstances 
to which they allude. 

Six months later he sent to the President the 
following remonstrance against Armstrong's 
plan of a conscription, with an urgent plea for 
his removal : — 

Washington, December 27, 1813. 

The following communication from the Secretary 
of the Navy is the cause of this letter. 

Just before I left the office he came into it and 
informed me that General Armstrong had adopted 
the idea of a conscription, and was engaged in com- 
munications with members of Congress, in which he 
endeavored to reconcile them to it, stating that the 
militia could not be relied on, and regular troops 
could not be enlisted. Mr. Jones was fearful, should 
such an idea get into circulation, that it would go far, 
with other circumstances, to ruin the administration. 
He told me that he had his information from General 
Jacock, and he authorized me to communicate it to 
you. 

I suspect that many other members have already 
been sounded on it, as Mr. Roberts remarked to me 
yesterday that General Armstrong had returned and 
had many projects prepared for them. 



SECRETARY OF STATE AND OF WAR. 115 

Other circumstances which have come to my 
knowledge ought to be known to you. Mr. Dawson 
called on me yesterday week and informed me that 
Mr. Fisk of New York intended to move on the next 
day a resolution calling on you to state by what 
authority General Armstrong had commanded the 
northern army during the late campaign ; who had 
discharged the duties of his office in his absence ; 
and for other information relating particularly to his 
issuing communications and exercising all the duties 
of Secretary of War on the frontiers. I satisfied 
Mr. Dawson that an attack on the Secretary on those 
grounds would be an attack on you, and that we must 
all support him against it, to support you. He assured 
me that he should represent it in that light to Mr. 
Fisk and endeavor to prevail on him to decline the 
measure. I presume he did so. 

General M., whom I have seen, informed me that 
this gentleman was engaged in the seduction of the 
officers of the army, particularly the young men of 
talents, promising to one the rank of brigadier, to 
another that of major-general, as he presumed with- 
out your knowledge ; teaching them to look to him, 
and not you, for preferment, and exciting their re- 
sentment against you if it did not take effect. He 
says that the most corrupting system is carried on 
throughout the State of New York, by placing in 
office, particularly in the quartermaster's depart- 
ment, his tools and the sons of influential men under 
them as clerks, etc. I did not go into detail. Other 
remarks of his I will take another opportunity of 



116 JAMES MONROE. 

communicating to you. It is painful to me to make 
this communication to you, nor should I do it if I 
did not most conscientiously believe that this man, 
if continued in office, will ruin not you and the ad- 
ministration only, but the whole Republican party 
and cause. He has already gone far to do it, and 
it is my opinion, if he is not promptly removed, he 
will soon accomplish it. 

The letter continues in confidential terms to 
exhibit the writer's estimate of Armstrong. 

Armstrong retained his portfolio, notwith- 
standing this remonstrance from his colleague. 
The battle of Bladensburg, however, effected a 
change which no peaceful protest could bring 
about. It revealed the utter inadequacy of the 
national defence, and quickened the administra- 
tion to wiser methods of carrying on the war. 
During the approach of the British to Wash- 
ington, says General Cullum, — 

" all in our army was confusion, and though Win- 
der was called the commander of this motley mass, 
there was more than one volunteer generalissimo from 
the President's mounted cabinet, one of whom, the 
Secretary of State, without Winder's knowledge, 
changed his order of battle, and another, the Secre- 
tary of War, had a few hours before been invested 
by the President with the supreme command, though, 
fortunately, his order was suspended before the battle 
began." 



SECRETARY OF STATE AND OF WAR. 117 

From the various narratives, it appears that 
Monroe went out from Washington, on August 
20, with a slender escort of twenty-five or 
thirty dragoons, to reconnoitre the enemy's po- 
sition, and he continued to watch their move- 
ments until after the battle of Bladensburg. 
On the 22d he informed the President that im- 
minent danger threatened the capital, advised 
the removal of the government records, and 
suggested that materials be in readiness for the 
destruction of the bridges. Then came the 
panic and the exodus of the inhabitants on the 
eve of an action. On the 24th, Monroe was 
with the President at General Winder's head- 
quarters, when it was discovered that the enemy 
were marching to Bladensburg, and he repaired 
without loss of time to General Stansbury's 
position, in order to inform him of this move- 
ment. The accounts of what he did on the 
field are confused. Colonel Williams says there 
are discrepancies in the statements of various 
participants in the action which it is impossible 
to reconcile, the more singular because the 
statements were prepared for the information 
of Congress but a few weeks after the battle. 
Forty years later the recollections of Richard 
Rush were drawn out in a letter, which gives a 
brief and vivid narrative of the sequence of 
events in that stirring week, and indicates the 



118 JAMES MONROE. 

relation of the President and his cabinet to the 
various movements. It is not possible for us to 
read this chapter in the national history with 
composure, and it is not easy on the field of 
Bladensburg to gather laurels for any one ; on 
the other hand, I shall not attempt to distribute 
the responsibilities of the disaster. The im- 
mediate result of it was that Ross and Cockburn 
lost no time in entering Washington, and soon 
the public buildings were in flames ; the ulti- 
mate result was popular determination to secure 
a more vigorous conduct of the war, in which 
Monroe became a prominent actor. 1 

Among contemporary narratives of these 
events two drafts have been preserved of a 
narrative written or inspired by Monroe, one 
of which will here be given. It belongs to the 
class of memoires pour servir, or semi-official 
memoranda, and will serve to give prominence 
to the Secretary's proceedings at this time, as 
he would like to have them remembered. The 
date is September, 1814, a few weeks at most 
(and possibly but a few days) after the battle of 
Bladensburg and the burning of the capital, — 
dire events which are referred to euphuistically 
as " the affair of the twenty-fourth." The cir- 

1 On this subject see G. W. Cullum, Campaigns of 1812, 
pp. 285-288 ; J. S. Williams, Capture of Washington, p. 209 ; 
especially the letter of I\. Rush on p. 274. 



SECRETARY OF STATE AND OF WAR. 119 

cumstances which placed Monroe in charge of 
the War Department are here fully indicated. 

" The President, Secretary of State, and Attorney- 
General returned to the city of Washington on Satur- 
day, the 27th of August, at which time the enemy's 
squadron were battering the fort below Alexandria, 
whose unprotected inhabitants were in consternation, 
as were those of the city and of Georgetown, and 
indeed of all the neighboring country. After the 
affair of the 24th, General Winder rallied the prin- 
cipal part of the militia engaged in it at Montgomery 
Court House, where he remained on the 25th and 
part of the 26th, preparing for a new movement, the 
necessity of which he anticipated. The Secretary of 
State joined him ; a portion of the forces from Balti- 
more at Montgomery Court House on the 25th had 
returned to that city. About midday on the 26th 
the general having received intelligence that the 
enemy were in motion towards Bladensburg, probably 
with intention to visit Baltimore, formed his troops 
without delay, and commenced his march towards 
Ellicott's Mills, with intention to hang on the enemy's 
left flank in case Baltimore was their object, and of 
meeting them at the mills if they took that route. 
Late in the evening of that day he resolved to pro- 
ceed in person to Baltimore, to prepare that city for 
the attack with which it was menaced. As com- 
mander of the military district, it was his duty to look 
to every part and to make the necessary prepara- 
tion for its defence, and none appeared then to be in 



120 JAMES MONROE. 

greater danger or to have a stronger claim to his 
attention than the city of Baltimore. He announced 
this, his resolution, to Generals Stansbury and Smith, 
instructing them to watch the movements of the 
enemy, and to act with the force under their com- 
mand as circumstances might require, and departed 
about 7 P. m. The Secretary of State remained with 
Generals Stansbury and Smith. 

" The President [had] crossed the Potomac on the 
evening of the 24th, accompanied by the Attorney- 
General and General Mason, and remained on the 
south side of the river a few miles above the lower 
falls, on the 25th. On the 26th he recrossed the 
Potomac, and went to Brookville, in the neighbor- 
hood of Montgomery Court House, with intention to 
join General Winder. 

" On the 27th the Secretary of State, having heard 
that the enemy had evacuated the city, notified it, by 
express, to the President, and advised immediate re- 
turn to the city for the purpose of reestablishing the 
government there. He joined the President on the 
same day at Brookville, accompanied by the Secretary 
of State and Attorney-General ; set out immediately 
for Washington, where they arrived at five in the 
afternoon. The enemy's squadron was then battering 
Fort Washington, which was evacuated and blown 
up by the commander, on that evening, without the 
least resistance. The unprotected inhabitants of Al- 
exandria in consternation capitulated, and those of 
Georgetown and the city were preparing to follow 
the example. Such was the state of affairs when the 



SECRETARY OF STATE AND OF WAR. 121 

President entered the city on the evening of the 
27th. There was no force organized for its defence. 
The Secretary of War was at Fredericktown, and 
General Winder at Baltimore. The effect of the 
late disaster on the whole Union and the world was 
anticipated. Prompt measures were indispensable. 
Under these circumstances, the President requested 
Mr. Monroe to take charge of the Department of 
War, and command of the District ad interi?n, with 
which he immediately complied. On the 28th in the 
morning, the President, with Mr. Monroe and the 
Attorney-General, visited the navy yard, the arsenal 
at Greenleaf's Point, and passing along the shore of 
the Potomac, up towards Georgetown, Mr. Monroe, 
as Secretary of War and military commander, adopted 
measures, under sanction of the President, for the 
defence of the city and of Georgetown. As they 
passed near the capital he was informed that the 
citizens of Washington were preparing to send a dep- 
utation to the British commander for the purpose of 
capitulating. 

" He forbade the measure. It was then remarked 
that the situation of the inhabitants was deplorable ; 
there being no force prepared for their defence, their 
houses might be burnt down. Mr. Monroe then ob- 
served that he had been charged by the President 
with authority to take measures for the defence of the 
city, and that it should be defended ; that if any depu- 
tation moved towards the enemy it should be repelled 
by the bayonet. He took immediate measures for 
mounting a battery at Greenleaf's Point, another near 



122 JAMES MONROE. 

the bridge, a third at the wind mill point, and sent 
an order to Colonel Winder, who was in charge of 
some cannon, on the opposite shore above the ferry 
landing, to move three of the pieces to the lower end 
of Mason's Island, and the others some distance 
below that point on the Virginia shore, to cooperate 
with the batteries on the Maryland side. Colonel 
Winder refused to obey the order, on which Mr. 
Monroe passed the river, and riding to the colonel 
gave the order in person. The colonel replied that 
he did not know Mr. Monroe as Secretary of War or 
commanding general. Mr. Monroe then stated that 
he acted under the authority of the President, and 
that he must either obey the order or leave the field. 
The colonel preferred the latter." 1 

The following letter from William Robinson, 
a political opponent of Monroe, was written in 
1823, to counteract certain disparaging reports 
which were abroad in reference to the defence 
of Washington : 2 — 

" I have it in perfect recollection that on the morn- 
ing of the 27th August I met with Colonel Monroe 
at Snell's bridge on the route to Baltimore. The 
army was in march from Montgomery Court House, 
where it had reassembled after the battle of Bladens- 
burg ; much confusion prevailed in consequence of 
the recent defeat, and the disorganization and disper- 
sion of the officers of the government. Colonel 
Monroe expressed great anxiety for the immediate 
i Monroe MSS. 2 Gouverneur MSS. 



SECRETARY OF STATE AND OF WAR. 123 

return of the President and high officers of govern- 
ment to Washington city with a view to the restora- 
order and effective resistance of the enemy. 
; pleased to intrust me with an open letter, or 
o that effect, ordering my utmost dispatch in 
of the President, whom I found at the village 
01 jorookville, where he was soon found by the colo- 
nel, and both proceeded to Washington. I then pro- 
ceeded to Montgomery Court House, where I found 
Jones, the Secretary of the Navy, and delivered a 
summons for an immediate attendance at Washington. 
General Armstrong had gone to Fredericktown in 
Maryland, and not considering my orders reached so 
far, I returned to Georgetown in the evening. The 
sentiment common in the army was so decidedly 
inimical to General Armstrong, that I feel assured 
that his person would have been endangered had he 
attempted to join us." 

Whatever may have been Monroe's course on 
the battle-field at Bladensburg, there can be no 
doubt that when he assumed the duties of Sec- 
retary of War vigor was at once infused into 
all the military operations. Washington was 
defended ; Baltimore was rescued, and the na- 
tional banner continued to wave over Fort Mc- 
Henry ; the dispatches sent to Jackson in the 
southwest had the ring of determination and 
authority. Monroe appears at this time in his 
best aspect, enthusiastic, determined, confident 
of the popular support, daring. " Hasten your 



124 JAMES MONROE. 

militia to New Orleans," he wrote in rousing 
dispatches to the governors near the seat of 
war in Louisiana ; " do not wait for this govern- 
ment to arm them ; put all the arms you can 
find into their hands ; let every man bring his 
rifle with him ; we shall see you paid." 1 

Having thus indicated Monroe's relations to 
the war, it does not seem necessary to dwell on 
the innumerable details which pertain to that 
period. 

1 Schouler comes to the defence of Monroe. See his note. 
Hist, of U. S. ii. p. 409, and the text, pp. 414 and 459. 



CHAPTER VI. 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Monroe held the office of president of the 
United States during two full terras, from 1817 
to 1825. It has already been stated that eight 
years previous to his first election he was se- 
riously considered as a candidate, when Madi- 
son received the nomination. He was nearly 
fifty-nine years old when first called to the 
presidency, about the age at which Jefferson 
and Madison attained the same position ; Wash- 
ington became President a little younger, at 
fifty-seven, and John Adams a little older, at 
sixty-one. 

At his first election, Monroe received 183 
votes in the electoral college against 34 which 
were given for Rufus King, the candidate of 
the Federalists ; at his second election, but one 
electoral vote was given against him, and that 
was cast for John Quincy Adams. No one but 
Washington was ever reelected to the highest 
office in the land with so near an approach to 
unanimity. 

Daniel D. Tompkins was Vice-President dur- 
ing both presidential terms. 



126 JAMES MONROE. 

Let us now ask on whose counsel the new 
President could rely and whose opposition he 
must expect. Jefferson and Madison had never 
failed to be his friends, whatever slight estrange- 
ment may have arisen, and they were now in 
the mood of cordial cooperation. The old Fed- 
eralists, no longer bound by party allegiance, 
had not forgotten their former animosities. The 
coldness of John Adams was not likely to be 
seriously modified, even though his son came 
into the cabinet. Jackson, already extremely 
popular, was ready to volunteer suggestions 
on the conduct of civil affairs ; Henry Clay 
was a leader in the House of Representatives, 
where for several years (with an interruption) 
he had been the speaker; Richard Rush was 
conspicuous ; Benton was soon to be prominent, 
but he was not yet a man of national mark, 
and his thirty years' reminiscences begin with 
1820 ; Webster had been for two terms a 
member of the House, but was now determined 
to pursue a professional life, and was about to 
come forward as a constitutional lawyer in the 
Dartmouth College case. 

The cabinet, as finally made up after various 
delays, included four men who remained in it 
during both presidential terms, — J. Q. Adams, 
J. C. Calhoun, W. H. Crawford, and W. Wirt, 
— respectively appointed Secretary of State, 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 127 

>tary of War, Secretary of the Treasury, 
Vttorney-General. The Post Office was 
: rected by R. J. Meigs, and then by 
. ivicLean. The Navy Department remained 
for a time under Mr. Madison's secretary, Ben- 
jamin W. Crowninshield, but he was soon suc- 
ceeded by Smith Thompson. 1 In all political 
affairs, as distinguished from administrative 
duties, the four first named were undoubtedly 
the strong men. They were younger than 
Monroe : Adams at that time being 50 years 
old ; Crawford, 44 ; Calhoun, 35 ; and Wirt, 
45 ; and they represented different ideas of 
public policy, as well as opposing claims to the 
presidential succession. Their personal rival- 
ries were not concealed. Adams, when he be- 
came Secretary of State, was, perhaps, the most 
distinguished American then actively engaged 
in public life. He took this office thoroughly 
trained for its responsibilities. He had been 
favored with a liberal academic education, and 
had participated to an unusual extent in the 
conduct of affairs. At the age of eleven he 
went with his father to Paris, when the latter 
was envoy to France. At fourteen, this " ma- 
ture youngster " (as Mr. Morse has called him) 
accompanied Mr. Dana to St. Petersburg, in 
the post of private secretary. Later on he was 
1 Thompson was followed by S. L. Southard. 



128 JAMES MONROE. 

successively minister to Holland, Prussia, Rus- 
sia, and England. He secured a treaty of 
amity between Prussia and the United States, 
was one of the commissioners who negotiated 
the treaty of Ghent, and was afterwards one of 
those who signed the commercial treaty with 
England. He was thus a participant in the 
diplomatic questions evolved by two wars, — 
the Revolution and the war of 1812. Inheriting 
strong intellectual qualities which have been 
conspicuous in his descendants, governed by 
absolute independence in the formation of his 
opinions, and sustained in the popular good- 
will by his unquestioned integrity and patriot- 
ism, he was the man of all who could be 
thought of to give wisdom, weight, and dig- 
nity to the cabinet of which he became head. 
The most serious questions of Monroe's admin- 
istration arose in the State Department, and it 
was fortunate that its affairs were guided by a 
statesman of such varied information and ex- 
perience. The wonderful diary, which Adams, 
when a child, began at the instance of his fa- 
ther, is rich in its memoranda of this period, 
and the eulogy which he delivered on the death 
of Monroe remains to this day the best history 
of his political standing. 

Calhoun's career had been very different 
from that of Adams. He was called to the 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 129 

cabi while comparatively a young man, 
>ars the junior of the Secretary of 
s political experience had been re- 
[ vo that of a representative in Congress. 
1 rom the time of his election to the House, he 
was felt to be a power. Important positions 
were assigned to him, and his words bore the 
weight of authority. But although the public 
lives of those two men were so different, and 
although they ultimately became representa- 
tives of bitter antagonisms, they were not un- 
like in some marked peculiarities. In early 
days both were surrounded by strong religious 
influences. Calhoun was born and bred under 
the rigid orthodoxy characteristic of the Irish 
Presbyterians, to whom both his father and his 
mother and their parents belonged. Adams, as 
his latest biographer tells us, remained through 
life " a complete and thorough Puritan, won- 
derfully little modified by times and circum- 
stances. " Both were graduated in New England 
colleges, one at Harvard, and the other at Yale. 
Both were independent thinkers, and true to 
their convictions, however unpopular. One be- 
came a leading opponent of the encroachments 
of slavery, the other a leader in nullification ; 
but during the administration of Monroe and 
long afterwards Calhoun was quite as out- 
spoken as Adams in his love for the Union. 
9 



130 JAMES MONROE. 

Both were loyal admirers of the President into 
whose council they were called, and they re- 
mained on terms of intimacy with him as long- 
as he lived. Both were honest, fearless, power- 
ful, independent statesmen. After Monroe's 
retirement, one became President, the other 
Vice-President. Both remained in public ser- 
vice to the very close of life, Calhoun dying 
while senator, and Adams while a representa- 
tive. Both are credited by their biographers 
with that sagacity which points out in advance 
the dangers covered up by a political measure. 
Calhoun, says Von Hoist, " reads the future as 
if the book of fate were lying wide open before 
him." Adams, says Morse, " discerned in pass- 
ing events l the title-page to a great tragic vol- 
ume,' " and " few men at that day read the 
future so clearly." 

Unlike the two ministers already named, 
Crawford was what has been termed " a self- 
made man." He was continued in charge of 
the Treasury Department, to which, after his 
return from the embassv to France and after a 
brief service as Secretary of War, he had been 
called by Madison. In the congressional cau- 
cus which nominated Monroe, Crawford was 
the chief opposing candidate ; and a shrewd 
observer, who was a member of that body, has 
recorded his opinion that when Congress first 



PRESIDENT OF TEE UNITED STATES. 131 

assembled a majority of Republican members 
were for Crawford. But the nomination was 
postponed from time to time, and at length, 
through the influence of Madison or other 
causes, sixty-five votes were cast for Monroe 
and fifty-four for his opponent. 1 Crawford, 
however, continued to be regarded as in the 
line of succession to the presidency, and re- 
ceived a part of the electoral vote in 1824. 

William Wirt was the choice of the Presi- 
dent for the office of attorney-general. His 
biographer, John P. Kennedy, in the vivid por- 
trait with which he begins the memoir, dwells 
on the Teutonic aspect of Wirt, not unlike to 
Goethe's. Born in Maryland, he was of Ger- 
man origin, his father having migrated to this 
country from Switzerland many years before 
the Revolution, and his mother being a Ger- 
man. Previously a prominent advocate in the 
courts of Virginia, he won a national reputa- 
tion by the part he took in the prosecution of 
Aaron Burr. Having a limited education and 
a very moderate library to begin with, he had 
risen by his talents to a conspicuous rank as a 
lawyer and as a writer. He had recently com- 
pleted his memoir of Patrick Henry. He came 
into office as the personal friend of Monroe, 

1 Many other details in respect to the nomination are given 
in Hammond's Political History. 



132 JAMES MONROE. 

after it was decided that Richard Rush should 
go to England, and he was attracted to the at- 
torney-generalship not so much on account of 
the political preferment, as because of the pro- 
fessional standing which it gave him. Unlike 
Adams, Calhoun, and Crawford, he did not 
aspire to the presidency. To William Pope's 
suggestions he replied, " I am already higher 
than I had any reason to expect, and I should 
be light-headed indeed, because I have been 
placed on this knoll, where I feel safe, to aspire 
at the mountain's pinnacle in order to be blown 
to atoms. Therefore let this matter rest." And 
so it rested. Wirt remained in office twelve 
years, and although he did not confine his pro- 
fessional labors to the service of the govern- 
ment, he exalted the station which he held by 
an assiduous discharge of all its duties with 
ability, learning, and success. 

Among those who were thought of for the 
cabinet, Henry Clay, one of Monroe's support- 
ers for the presidency, was conspicuous. He de- 
clined the offer of an appointment as Secretary 
of War, but his " friends did not conceal their 
disappointment that he was not invited to take 
the office of secretary of state ; nor did he dis- 
guise his dissatisfaction at the appointment of 
Mr. Adams ; " so writes Josiah Quincy. There 
are many subsequent indications of Clay's hos- 



PRESIDENT OF TEE UNITED STATES. 138 

tility to the administration. William Wirt, 
for example, in counselling with the President 
in regard to certain allowances claimed for 
Clay's diplomatic services, where the usage of 
the government was not clearly established, 
remarks as follows : "I am aware of the deli- 
cacy which connects itself with this question 
considered personally as it relates to you ; but 
it is a delicacy with a double aspect : if you re- 
ject the claim, Mr. Clay and his friends may 
impute it to hostility to him, on account of the 
political part which he has occasionally taken 
against you ; and, on the other hand, if you ad- 
mit the claim and it shall be thought unjust, 
it may, and by some most probably will, be im- 
puted to a dread of his further opposition and 
a wish to bribe him to silence. The best way 
will be to consider the question abstractedly 
without any manner of reference to the char- 
acter of the claimant, and this I shall endeavor 
to do." It is one of the curious incidents of 
political life, that at the close of Monroe's ad- 
ministration the vote of Clay's friends made 
Adams President, and Adams made Clay his 
Secretary of State. 

Jackson had formed a personal attachment 
to Monroe in 1815, and welcomed his accession 
to the presidency partly on this account, partly 
because he disliked Crawford. Several letters 



134 JAMES MONROE. 

exchanged by Jackson and the President elect 
have long been familiar to the public. They 
indicate that he, as well as Clay and Shelby, 
declined the office of secretary of war. They 
also show that Jackson felt quite at liberty to 
make confidential suggestions in respect to can- 
didates for the cabinet. For the War Depart- 
ment he urgently recommended Colonel W. H. 
Drayton, late of the army ; Shelby he opposed. 
The selection of Adams he regarded as the best 
that could be made for the Department of State. 
The letters of Monroe to Jackson at this junc- 
ture show the principles on which the former 
meant to select his chief advisers, and also the 
attitude which he proposed to hold in respect 
to the Federalists. In the formation of an ad- 
ministration, he thought that the heads of de- 
partments (there being four) should be taken 
from the four great sections of the Union, the 
east, the middle, the south, and the west, unless 
great emergencies and transcendent talents 
should justify a departure from this plan ; and 
lie intimated pointedly that in selecting candi- 
dates he should act for the country, and not 
"for the aggrandizement of any one." The 
Federalists he regarded as thoroughly routed, 
the great body of them having become Repub- 
licans. To preserve the Republican party and 
prevent the revival of the Federal, was to be 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 135 

his aim as a politician, for he did not regard 
the existence of parties as necesssary to free 
governments. Hence he favored moderation 
toward those who had acted with the Federal 
party, and even a generous policy. The embar- 
rassing question was, how far to indulge that 
spirit in the outset. 

The course pursued by Monroe when James 
Kent was proposed to him for the vacant posi- 
tion on the supreme bench does not show that 
he had entirely forgotten his animosity toward 
the Federalists. Wirt urged the appointment 
of Kent, and Calhoun concurred with him, 
but the President hesitated and finally Smith 
Thompson received the nomination. 

The principal subjects which engrossed the 
attention of Monroe during his two terms of 
office were the defence of the Atlantic sea- 
board, the promotion of internal improvements, */ 
the Seminole war, the acquisition of Florida, 
the Missouri compromise ; and the resistance to 
foreign interference in American affairs, formu- 
lated in a declaration which has borne the des- 
ignation of the Monroe Doctrine. It may also 
be added that his administration began and 
ended with a sort of pageantry, which is always 
attractive to the masses as it moves over the 
scene, though not always approved in the cooler 
criticism of democratic second thoughts. The 



136 JAMES MONROE. 

first of these demonstrations was a presidential 
tour, in two parts, to the north and to the 
south ; the second was a national reception of 
Lafayette, the country's guest. 

With the present facilities in locomotion, 
presidential journeys are not uncommon, and 
have rarely any political significance ; but in 
that generation it was a noteworthy event to 
see and hear the chief magistrate on his travels. 
There is little doubt that one of the principal 
objects of this journey was to conciliate the 
Federalists, whose opposition to this and the 
preceding administration was strong ; but the 
primary and ostensible purpose was to examine 
the fortifications and harbors of the United 
States. For this reason the President was ac- 
companied by General Joseph G. Swift, Chief 
Engineer of the army, and not by the members 
of his cabinet. This choice of an escort was 
sagacious. Swift was a New Englander of New 
Englanders, the first graduate at West Point, 
and a friend of Eustis, late Secretary of War, 
whom he had accompanied from Boston to 
Washington in 1809, and "inducted into the 
mysteries of his new vocation." By his skill 
in protecting New York during the war he had 
gained the applause of a " Benefactor to the 
City," and had received more substantial proofs 
pf the gratitude of the people. He was there- 



PRESIDENT OF TEE UNITED STATES. 137 

fore a valuable companion in a professional as 
well as in a social aspect. 1 

Three n onths and a half were expended on 
the journey The party visited the chief cities 
of the Atlantic seaboard as far as Portland, 
traversed Ne v Hampshire, Vermont, and New 
York, went west as far as Detroit, and then 
returned to .Washington by way of Zanesville, 
Pittsburgh, and Fredericktown. Everywhere 
there were receptions and speeches, dinners and 
assemblies, and the record of all these doings 
was compiled and published in a duodecimo 
volume by an ardent admirer of the adminis- 
tration in Connecticut. The President's first 
address was at Baltimore on June 2, 1817. 
There he indicated, in the following language, 
his double aim to secure defence against exter- 
nal foes, and to seek the promotion of internal 
harmony. 

" Congress has appropriated large sums of money 
for the fortification of our coast and inland frontier, 
and for the establishment of naval dock yards and 
building a navy. It is proper that these works should 
be executed with judgment, fidelity, and economy ; 
much depends in the execution on the Executive, to 
whom extensive power is given as to the general ar- 
rangement, and to whom the superintendence exclu- 

i See General G. W. Cullum's Campaigns and Engineers of 
1812. 



138 JAMES MONROE. 

sively belongs. You do me justice in believing that 
it is to enable me to discharge these duties with the 
best advantage to my country that I have, undertaken 

this tour. . 

" From the increased harmony of public opinion, 
founded on the successful career of h government 
which has never been equalled, and waich promises, 
by a future development of its faculties, to augment 
in an eminent degree the blessings of this favored 
people, I unite with you in all the anticipations 
which you have so justly suggested." 

A letter which was written by Crawford to 
Gallatin, after the close of the President's tour, 
is a good indication of the politician's view of 
the results of so great an expenditure of time 
and force. 1 

" The President's tour through the East has pro- 
duced something like a political jubilee. They were, 
in the land of steady habits, at least for the time, 
1 all Federalists, all Republicans.' If the bondmen 
and bondwomen were not set free, and individual 
debts released, a general absolution of political sins 
seems to have been mutually agreed upon. Whether 
the parties will not relapse on the approach of their 
spring elections in Massachusetts can only be deter- 
mined by the event. 

" In this world there seems to be nothing free from 
alloy. Whilst the President is lauded for the good 
he has done in the East by having softened party 

1 October 27, 1817. 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 139 

asperity and by the apparent reconciliation which, for 
the moment, seems to have been effected between 
materials the most heterogeneous, the restless, the 
carping, the malevolent men in the Ancient Dominion 
are ready to denounce him for his apparent acquies- 
cence in the seeming man-worship with which he was 
venerated by the wise men of the East. 

" Seriously, I think the President has lost as much 
as he has gained by this tour, at least in popularity. 
In health, however, he seems to have been a great 
gainer." 

With these views of the critical Georgian 
may be placed in contrast the genial reflections 
of an admirer at the North. 1 

" For the political father of a great, a growing, 
and an intelligent people, freemen by birth, and re- 
solved to be free, to witness such striking proofs of 
their fidelity and admiration, must have made a 
deep, a lasting impression upon his mind. He must 
be something more or less than man, who would view 
such a scene with apathy and indifference. A jani- 
zary of Turkey may offer up hosannahs to the Sultan, 
until the javelin which the Sultan wields ends his life 
and his plaudits at a stroke ; an eastern despot may 
be adored by his slaves, who mingle groans of distress 
with the accents of praise ; European princes may 
be followed by a famishing peasantry, whose huzzas 
are feeble from want of food ; but it is the happiness 
of the President of the United States to be thronged. 

1 Waldo, p. 51. 



140 JAMES MONROE. 

by an assemblage of happy freemen, acknowledging 
their gratitude to the only " legitimate " ruler of a 
great nation ; legitimate, because he derives his power 
from the voice of the people he governs." 

The northern trip was followed by one to the 
Southern States in 1819. The President went 
as far south as Augusta, then through the Cher- 
okee region to Nashville, and afterwards to 
Louisville and Lexington. 

Before a year had passed there was a renewal 
of hostilities with the Seminole Indians. The 
war was brief and decisive, but the enmities 
which it excited among those who took part 
in conducting it lasted many years. This con- 
troversy, long dormant, burst forth with fury 
when Jackson was a candidate for a second 
presidential term. It is to his life that this 
story belongs, and the reader may readily find 
the particulars in the pages of Par ton and Sum- 
ner. 

While Florida was still a Spanish domain, 
Jackson was sent to Southern Georgia to put a 
stop to the Indian outrages. Before going he 
addressed a letter to Monroe (January 6, 1818) 
intimating that, in his opinion, a vigorous policy 
ought to be pursued. Amelia Island should be 
seized " at all hazards," and " simultaneously 
the whole of East Florida, to be held as an in- 
demnity for the outrages of Spain upon the 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 141 

property of our citizens." It is not clear 
whether he received an authoritative answer 
from the President to this important pro- 
gramme, for there are discrepancies in the 
testimony not now explicable. But he acted 
as if he possessed the complete support of the 
authorities in Washington. He crossed the 
Florida line in pursuit of the fugitive red men ; 
he captured and garrisoned a fortress on Span- 
ish territory ; he seized Pensacola and captured 
the Barrancas ; and he approved the summary 
execution of Ambrister and Arbuthnot, subjects 
of Great Britain, who were credited with excit- 
ing the Indians against the Americans. By all 
this he brought the United States to the verge 
of war with Spain, and likewise offended Eng- 
land. War might have been produced, said 
Lord Castlereagh to Mr. Rush, " if the ministry 
had but held up a finger." 

When Jackson returned to the North it was 
a question how far he should be sustained by 
the administration. Adams wrote a diplomatic 
paper vindicating him, the House of Represen- 
tatives sustained him, and there was a general 
acquiescence in the course he had pursued. 
But long afterwards, in the spring of 1830, it be- 
came a matter of partisan controversy to deter- 
mine the attitude of Monroe and of the various 
members of his cabinet in respect to the incep- 



142 JAMES MONROE. 

tion and progress of this brief and spirited cam- 
paign. The recollections of Monroe, Calhoun, 
Adams, Crawford, and others were appealed to. 
The point of the controversy was, whether in 
January, 1818, Mr. Rhea, a member of Con- 
gress and a friend of Jackson's, had communi- 
cated to the latter by authority the wishes of 
Monroe in respect to the opening campaign. 
Monroe did not acknowledge that he had given 
any such authority; Jackson claimed that he 
did give it ; but " the Rhea letter " said to have 
been written with Monroe's assent was never 
produced. In the public correspondence just 
after the war, Monroe appears to deprecate 
the course which had been pursued by Jackson, 
though not to the extent of blaming him. " In 
transcending the limit of your orders," he says, 
"you acted on your own responsibility on facts 
and circumstances which were unknown to the 
government when the orders were given . . . 
and which you thought imposed on you the 
measure as an act of patriotism, essential to the 
honor and interests of your country." He also 
calls the General's attention to some parts of 
dispatches, " written in haste and under the pres- 
sure of fatigue and infirmity, and in a spirit of 
conscious rectitude," which may make trouble, 
and suggests their correction. " If you think 
proper to authorize the secretary or myself to 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 143 

correct those passages, it will be done with care, 
though should you have copies, as I presume 
you have, you had better do it yourself." A 
convenient summary of these letters was printed 
for Calhoun in 1831, but copies of it are now 
scarce. 

The endeavor of the United States to get 
possession of the Floridas by purchase reached 
a successful issue February 22, 1819, when a 
treaty was concluded at Washington through 
the negotiations of John Q. Adams, Secretary 
of State, and Luis de Onis, the Spanish envoy. 
Notwithstanding opposition from Mr. Clay and 
others, the treaty was ratified unanimously by 
the Senate, and thus the control of the entire 
Atlantic and Gulf sea-board from the St. Croix 
to the Sabine was secured to this government. 

During most of Monroe's administration, 
Richard Rush was the American minister in 
London, and his relations were chiefly with 
Lord Castlereagh and Mr. Canning. Rush was 
careful in his diary and correspondence, and has 
published much that is interesting on the as- 
pect of American affairs between 1818 and 
1825. The instructions under which he acted 
had the sanction of Madison, as well as of Mon- 
roe and Adams. The two subjects which he 
brought forward in one of his first interviews 
with the British minister were, an alleged viola- 



144 JAMES MONROE. 

tion of the treaty of Ghent by the carrying off 
of slaves in English ships at the close of the 
war, and a neglect to carry out exactly the com- 
mercial convention of 1815. He afterwards 
told how the news of Jackson's pursuit was 
received in the diplomatic circles of the Court 
of St. James. " We have had nothing of late 
so exciting : it smacks of war," said one of the 
plenipotentiaries. Subsequently the old subject 
of impressment, and the subject, ever old and 
ever new, of the Newfoundland fisheries, were 
matters of negotiation. 

The admission of Missouri to the Union was 
the theme of violent controversy from 1819 to 
1821, resulting in the famous Compromise, the 
repeal of which more than thirty years later 
again agitated the country. Here was the be- 
ginning of that wandering in the wilderness for 
forty years which resulted in emancipation. 
The particular record of the debates, led by 
Rufus King upon one side and John Randolph 
upon the other, must be studied in the legisla- 
tive rather than the administrative history of 
the times. The crisis in this debate occurred 
March 1, 1820, when Congress agreed to aban- 
don the idea of prohibiting slavery in Missouri 
and to insist upon its prohibition in the pub- 
lic territory north of the line 36° 30'. This 
determined the admission of Missouri, though it 



PRESIDENT OF TEE UNITED STATES. 145 

did not close the discussion. It came up again 
in the following year and resulted in a second 
compromise. During the winter of 1819-20 the 
excitement in Washington was intense. " At 
our evening parties," says Mr. Adams, " we 
hear of nothing but the Missouri question and 
Mr. King's speeches." He records also the con- 
versation which he held with Calhoun, indicat- 
ing in both that prophetic sagacity to which 
reference has been made, and also their diver- 
gence on a fundamental principle which grew 
wider and wider as long as they lived. 

Writing under the date of February 15, 1820, 
a fortnight before the adoption of the Com- 
promise, Monroe in a private letter declared 
his conviction that " the majority of States, of 
physical force, and eventually of votes in both 
houses, would be on the side of the non-slave- 
holding States." He thought it probable that 
they would succeed in their purpose or the 
Union be dissolved. " I consider this," he con- 
tinued, " as an atrocious attempt in certain 
leaders to grasp at power, and being very art- 
fully laid is more likely to succeed than any 
effort having the same object in view ever 
made before." 

The latter portion of this letter is as fol- 
lows: 1 — 

1 February 15, 1220. 
10 



146 JAMES MONROE. 

" As to the part which I may act, in all circum- 
stances in which I may be placed, I have not made 
up my mind, nor shall I until the period arrives 
when it will be my duty to act, and then I shall weigh 
well the injunctions of the Constitution, which, when 
clear and distinct to my mind, will be conclusive with 
me. The next consideration will be a fixed and an 
unalterable attachment to the Union ; my decided 
opinion is, that all States composing our Union, new 
as well as old, must have equal rights, ceding to the 
general government an equal share of power, and re- 
taining to themselves the like ; that they cannot be 
incorporated into the Union on different principles or 
conditions. Whether the same restraint exists on 
the power of the general government, as to terri- 
tories, in their incipient and territorial state, is a 
question on which my mind is clearly decided. By 
the Constitution, Congress has power to dispose of 
and make all needful rules and regulations respect- 
ing the territory and other property belonging to the 
United States, with a provision that nothing in this 
Constitution should be so construed as to prejudice 
any claims of the United States, or of any particular 
State. This provision is the only check on the power 
of Congress, and (referring only to the old contro- 
versy between the United States and individual States 
respecting vacant lands within their charter of limits, 
whose relative claims it was intended to preserve) 
has no operation, as I presume, on the present case. 
The power itself applies to the territory ceded by in- 
dividual States to the United States, and to none 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 147 

other. In such portions of the territory so ceded as 
are altogether uninhabited, the people who move 
there, under any ordinance of Congress, have no 
rights in the territorial state except such as they 
may acquire under the ordinance. The question, 
therefore, cannot occur in regard to them. If there 
is any restraint, then, on this power in Congress, it 
must be found in other parts of the Constitution. 
Slavery is recognized by the Constitution as five to 
three ; but is not the right thus recognized that only 
of the States in which the slaves are, as the measure 
or rate of representation in the House of Represen- 
tatives and for direct taxes ? Is it not a right to the 
slaves themselves, not as I presume to their owners, 
out of the State in which they are? By another 
clause it is provided that if slaves run away they may 
be pursued, demanded, and brought back ; this is a 
right of the slave-holding States, and of the owners 
of slaves living in them, and would apply to slaves 
running into Territories as well as into States. As 
slavery is recognized by the Constitution it is evi- 
dently unjust to restrain the owner from carrying his 
slave into a territory and retaining his right to him 
there, but whether the power to do this has not been 
granted is the point on which I have doubts, and on 
which I shall be glad to receive your opinion. If I 
can be satisfied that the Constitution forbids restraint, 
I shall, of course, obey it in all cases. 

" Should a bill pass admitting Missouri, subject to 
such restraint, I should have no difficulty in the 
course to be pursued, nor should I in any future case 



/ 



148 JAMES MONROE. 

respecting the admission of any other State. Arkan- 
sas, being organized without restriction, and people 
having moved there, as is understood, stands on the 
most favorable ground, on constitutional principles, 
in the view stated above. 

"Considerations of injustice and impolicy also 
merit much attention, and will have their weight 
with me. I do not think, supposing the constitu- 
tional right to exist, that Congress ought to confine 
the slaves within such narrow limits, even of Terri- 
tories, as might tend to make them a burden on the 
old States. How far I may go on this principle will 
merit great consideration. If the right to impose 
the restraint exists, and Congress should pass a law 
for it, to reject it, as to the whole of the unsettled 
territory, might, with existing impressions in other 
questions, affect our system. This I should look to 
with a just sensibility to the part likely to be in- 
jured." 

Mr. Adams, in recording his impressions of 
the entire discussion, thus defines his own posi- 
tion : — 

" I have favored this Missouri compromise, believ- 
ing it to be all that could be effected under the pres- 
ent Constitution, and from extreme unwillingness to 
put the Union at hazard. But perhaps it would have 
been a wiser and bolder course to have persisted in 
the restriction on Missouri, until it should have ter- 
minated in a convention of the States to revise and 
amend the Constitution. This would have produced 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 149 

a new Union of thirteen or fourteen States unpol- 
luted with slavery, with a great and glorious object 
— that of rallying to their standard the other States 
by the universal emancipation of their slaves. If the 
Union must be dissolved, slavery is precisely the ques- 
tion upon which it ought to break. For the present, 
however, this contest is laid asleep." 

The promotion of internal improvements and 
the defence of the seaboard had naturally 
come to the front as important questions during 
the momentous events of Madison's administra- 
tion. Monroe took up these matters in earnest 
when the chief responsibility of guiding the 
national policy devolved upon him, but it was 
not until 1822 that lie felt called upon to an- 
nounce his views in an elaborate paper. He 
vetoed the Cumberland Road bill on May 4, 
and he simultaneously submitted to Congress 
an exposition of his views. His long state- 
ment concludes with the assertion that Congress 
has not the right under the Constitution to 
adopt and execute a system of interna^ im- 
provements, but that such a power, if it could 
be secured by a constitutional amendment, 
would have the happiest effect on all the great 
interests of the Union ; though, in his opinion, 
it should be confined to great national works, 
leaving to the separate States all minor im- 
provements. 



150 JAMES MONROE. 

Near the close of Monroe's presidency, La- 
fayette made his celebrated visit to the United 
States as " the nation's guest." These two 
men had been friends from the days when they 
were both in the Revolutionary army. When 
Lafayette was a prisoner in Olmutz and Mon- 
roe was American minister in France, efforts 
were made by the latter to secure the former's 
release. Several letters are before me 1 which 
relate to the negotiations. Funds were sent by 
Washington to Monroe for the benefit of 
Madame Lafayette. As the United States had 
no minister near the Austrian court, the medi- 
ation of the Danish government was solicited 
by Monroe. Carefully covered references to 
"the friend in question" were addressed by 
Monroe to Mr. Masson, aide-de-camp of Lafay- 
ette. But the details of this story belong else- 
where. They are here alluded to because they 
indicate the recollections shared by these two 
patriots when they met more than a quarter of 
a century afterwards, and Monroe, as President 
and as friend, welcomed Lafayette to the hos- 
pitality of the United States. 

On May 10, 1824, the French Marquis, 
" with feelings of respectful, affectionate, and 
patriotic gratitude," accepted the invitation of 
Congress, and promised to visit " the beloved 

1 Gouverneur MSS. 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 151 

land " of which it had been his " happy lot to 
become an early soldier and an adopted son." 
Early in October, after his landing in this 
country, the members of Monroe's cabinet were 
in doubt as to the etiquette which should be 
observed at the reception of this illustrious 
visitor in Washington, and also as to the atti- 
tude which the administration should take dur- 
ing the progress of his journey. Calhoun, the 
Secretary of War, addressed a letter of eight 
pages to Mr. Monroe on this matter, saying 
that it seemed " hazardous on the one side to 
connect the government too much with the 
movements in favor of the General, and on the 
other not to seem to sympathize with the pop- 
ular feelings. Of the two, however, the latter 
is the most hazardous, and in a doubtful case 
we ought to err on the right side." A few 
days later Monroe answered some inquiries 
from Lafayette respecting his route, and added 
that his arrival " has given rise to a great polit- 
ical movement which has so far taken the direc- 
tion and had the effect among us, and I pre- 
sume in Europe, which the best friends to you 
and to sound principles could desire. It is of 
great importance that it should terminate in 
like manner." The letters from the visitor to 
his host are most familiar. In one of them he 
says, " I feel, my dear sir, the impropriety to 



152 JAMES MONROE. 

address the President of the United States on 
a half sheet of paper, but am pressed by time, 
and the knowledge of the sin will remain be- 
tween you and me." His closing salutations 
are varied and glowing, one of the most char- 
acteristic being, " from your old, affectionate, 
obliged brother-soldier and friend." From " on 
board the Potto wmack steam boat," February 
24, 1825, he sends to Monroe " the commentary 
on Montesquieu, by my friend Tracy, George's 
father-in-law," which may be of use to one 
who " contemplates writing a political exposi- 
tion." " It has been translated under the pat- 
ronage of Mr. Jefferson who considers it the 
best publication of the kind. You will, I be- 
lieve, find it the most advanced theoretical point 
of the science, although the practice in every 
detail be still superior to theories." 1 

After Lafayette's return to France his letters 
to Monroe were marked by the same confidence 
and affection, and they show that in private 
life he was as charming as in public he was 
popular. Two passages will be quoted. In the 
first he speaks as follows of the American visit- 
ors introduced to him at Lagrange. 

" I am afraid, dear friend, you continue to be un- 
easy at the number of American visits we are wont 
to receive. Be assured nothing can be more pleasing 

1 Gouverneur MSS. 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 153 

to me, and to us all ; it is even necessary. You know 
my American education, feelings, habits, prejudices. 
. . . Doomed as I am to live on a side of the Atlan- 
tic where, to be sure, I am bound by family, friendly, 
patriotic affections and duties, but in other respects 
less congenial to my youthful avocations and repub- 
lican nature, I ever have felt something peculiar 
and sympathetic in American communications, a dis- 
position which, of course, has been strengthened in 
my last visit, when in every man, woman, and child 
of a population of twelve millions, I have found a 
loving, indeed an enthusiastic friend. You may con- 
ceive what, in addition to my attachments and re- 
membrances of more than fifty years, must now be to 
me the United States and every sort of communion 
with their citizens. The visits we receive are not by 
far so numerous as I would like them, and the feeling 
is so unanimous in the family that young American 
strangers as they arrive are received by our girls 
with more confidence and familiarity than they would 
be disposed to show to most of their older acquaint- 
ances, because there is something like family under- 
standing between them ; and so I have the delight to 
see that when American friends find themselves here 
in sight of American colors, American busts and por- 
traits, American manners, and American welcome, 
they look as feeling they are at home. Let me add 
that the sentiments, behavior, delicacy of all the 
young men from the United States are exemplary to 
a degree which, to the older part of their fellow-citi- 



154 JAMES MONROE. 

zens, is an object of inexpressible and proud gratifi- 
cation." 1 

In the second extract, the reader may see 
with what extreme delicacy Lafayette offers 
pecuniary assistance to one who had brought 
assistance to the Olmiitz prisoner three decades 
before. 

" In the meanwhile, my dear Monroe, permit your 
earliest, your best, and your most obliged friend to be 
plain with you. It is probable that to give you time 
and facilities for your arrangements, a mortgage 
might be of some use. 

" The sale of one half of my Florida property is 
full enough to meet my family settlements and the 
wishes of my neighbors. There may be occasion for 
a small retrocession of acres, in case of some claims 
on the disposed-of Louisiana lands, an object as yet 
uncertain, at all events inconsiderable, so that there 
will remain ample security for a large loan, for I un- 
derstand the lands are very valuable, and will be 
more so, to a great extent, after the disposal of a part 
of them. You remember that in similar embarrass- 
ment I have formerly accepted your intervention, it 
gives me a right to reciprocity. Our friend, Mr. 
Graham, has my full powers. Be pleased to peruse 
the inclosed letter, seal it, and put it in the post- 
office. I durst not send it before I had obtained 
your approbation, yet should it be denied, I would 
feel much mortified. I hope, I know, you are too 

1 Gouverneur MSS. 



PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 155 

much my friend not to accept what, in a similar case, 
I would not an instant hesitate to ask." 1 

When Monroe's second term was almost 
ended the rivalries for the succession became 
very apparent. Adams, Crawford, and Cal- 
houn in his cabinet, Clay and Jackson outside 
of it, were all recognized candidates. Monroe 
remained neutral in the contest. The biogra- 
pher of William Wirt, 2 with ample materials at 
his command for forming a judgment, says : — 

" During the pendency of this contest, Mr. Monroe 
observed a most scrupulous resolve against all inter- 
ference with the freest expression of the public senti- 
ment in regard to the candidates. In this he was 
fully seconded and sustained by his cabinet, by none 
more than by those whose names were in the lists for 
suffrage. For, at that time, it was not considered 
decorous in the Executive to make itself a partisan in 
a presidential or any other election. Indeed, there 
was a most wholesome fastidiousness exhibited on 
this point, which would have interpreted the attempt, 
of a cabinet officer, or any other functionary of the 
government, to influence the popular vote by speech, 
by writing, by favor, fear, or affection, as a great 
political misdemeanor worthy of sharpest rebuke. 
These were opinions of that day derived from an 
elder age. They are obsolete opinions now." 

1 Gouverneur MSS. I do not know whether Monroe availed 
himself of this generous offer, but I presume that he did not.. 

2 Hon. J. P. Kennedy, in his Life of Wirt.ii. 168. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE MONROE DOCTRINE. 

There is an important subject, pertaining 
to Monroe's administration, which has been re- 
served for a special chapter. The one event of 
his presidency which is indissolubly associated 
with his name, is an announcement of the pol- 
icy of the United States in respect to foreign 
interference in the affairs of this continent. 
The declaration bears the name of the " Mon- 
roe Doctrine." As such it is discussed in 
works on public law and in general histories. 
It is commonly regarded as an epitome of the 
principles of the United States with respect to 
the development of American States. 

Everything which illustrates the genesis of 
such an important enunciation is of interest, 
but very little has come under my eye to illus- 
trate the workings of Monroe's mind, or to show 
how it came to pass that he uttered in such 
terse sentences the general opinion of his coun- 
trymen. As a rule, he was not very skilful with 
his pen ; his remarks on public affairs are not 
often quoted, like those of Jefferson, Madison, 



THE MONROE DOCTRINE. 157 

and others of his contemporaries ; there was 
nothing racy or severe in his style ; nevertheless, 
he alone of all the Presidents has announced, 
without legislative sanction, a political dictum, 
which is still regarded as fundamental law, and 
bears with it the stamp of authority in foreign 
courts as well as in domestic councils. 

We must turn to the annual message of De- 
cember 2, 1823, for the text. The two passages 
which relate to foreign interference are quite 
distinct from one another, and are separated by 
the introduction of other matter. This is the 

language : — 

i. 

" At the proposal of the Russian imperial govern- 
ment, made through the minister of the Emperor 
residing here, a full power and instructions have been 
transmitted to the minister of the United States at 
St. Petersburgh, to arrange, by amicable negotiation, 
the respective rights and interests of the two nations 
on the northwest coast of this continent. A similar 
proposal had been made by his imperial majesty to 
the government of Great Britain, which has likewise 
been acceded to. The government of the United 
States has been desirous, by this friendly proceeding, 
of manifesting the great value which they have in- 
variably attached to the friendship of the Emperor, 
and their solicitude to cultivate the best understand- 
ing with his government. In the discussions to which 
this interest has given rise and in the arrangements 



158 JAMES MONROE. 

by which they may terminate, the occasion has been 
judged proper for asserting, as a principle in which 
the rights and interests of the United States are in- 
volved, that the American continents, by the free and 
independent condition which they have assumed and 
maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as 
subjects for future colonization by any European 

powers." 

II. 

" It was stated at the commencement of the last 
session that a great effort was then making in Spain 
and Portugal to improve the condition of the people 
of those countries, and that it appeared to be con- 
ducted with extraordinary moderation. It need 
scarcely be remarked that the result has been so far 
very different from what was then anticipated. Of 
events in that quarter of the globe, with which we 
have so much intercourse and from which we derive 
our origin, we have always been anxious and inter- 
ested spectators. The citizens of the United States 
cherish sentiments the most friendly in favor of the 
the liberty and happiness of their fellow men on that 
side of the Atlantic. In the wars of the European 
powers, in matters relating to themselves, we have 
never taken any part, nor does it comport with our 
policy so to do. It is only when our rights are in- 
vaded or seriously menaced, that we resent injuries 
or make preparation for our defence. With the 
movements in this hemisphere we are, of necessity, 
more immediately connected and by causes which 
must be obvious to all enlightened and impartial ob- 



THE MONROE DOCTRINE. 15 9 

servers. The political system of the allied powers 
is essentially different in this respect from that of 
America. This difference proceeds from that which 
exists in their respective governments. And to the 
defence of our own, which has been achieved by the 
loss of so much blood and treasure, and matured by 
the wisdom of their most enlightened citizens, and 
under which we have enjoyed unexampled felicity, 
this whole nation is devoted. We owe it, therefore 
to candor and to the amicable relations existing be- 
tween the United States and those powers to declare 
that we should consider any attempt on their part to 
extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere 
as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the ex- 
isting colonies or dependencies of any European 
power we have not interfered, and shall not inter- 
fere. But with the governments who have declared 
their independence and maintained it, and whose inde- 
pendence we have, on great consideration and on just 
principles, acknowledged, we could not view any in- 
terposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or 
controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any 
European power, in any other light than as the man- 
ifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the 
United States. In the war between those new gov- 
ernments and Spain we declared our neutrality at 
the time of their recognition, and to this we have 
adhered and shall continue to adhere, provided no 
change shall occur which, in the judgment of the 
competent authorities of this government, shall make 
a corresponding change on the part of the United 
States indispensable to their security. 



160 JAMES MONROE. 

" The late events in Spain and Portugal show that 
Europe is still unsettled. Of this important fact no 
stronger proof can be adduced than that the allied 
powers should have thought it proper, on a principle 
satisfactory to themselves, to have interposed by force 
in the internal concerns of Spain. To what extent 
such interposition may be carried on the same prin- 
ciple, is a question to which all independent powers, 
whose governments differ from theirs, are interested; 
even those most remote, and surely none more so 
than the United States. Our policy in regard to 
Europe, which was adopted at an early stage of the 
wars which have so long agitated that quarter of the 
globe, nevertheless remains the same, which is, not to 
interfere in the internal concerns of any of its 
powers ; to consider the government de facto as the 
legitimate government for us ; to cultivate friendly 
relations with it, and to preserve those relations by a 
frank, firm, and manly policy; meeting, in all in- 
stances, the just claims of every power, submitting 
to injuries from none. But in regard to these conti- 
nents, circumstances are eminently and conspicuously 
different. It is impossible that the allied powers 
should extend their political system to any portion of 
either continent without endangering our peace and 
happiness ; nor can any one believe that our southern 
brethren, if left to themselves, would adopt it of their 
own accord. It is equally impossible, therefore, that 
we should behold such interposition, in any form, with 
indifference. If we look to the comparative strength 
and resources of Spain and those new governments, 



THE MONROE DOCTRINE. 161 

and their distance from each other, it must be ob- 
vious that she can never subdue them. It is still the 
true policy of the United States to leave the parties 
to themselves, in the hope that other powers will pur- 
sue the same course." 

It appears to me probable that Monroe had 
but little conception of the lasting effect which 
his words would produce. He spoke what he 
believed and what he knew that others be- 
lieved ; he spoke under provocation, and aware 
that his views might be controverted ; he spoke 
with authority after consultation with his cabi- 
net, and his words were timely ; but I do not 
suppose that he regarded this announcement as 
his own. Indeed, if it had been his own decree 
or ukase it would have been resented at home 
quite as vigorously as it would have been op- 
posed abroad. It was because he pronounced 
not only the opinion then prevalent, but a tra- 
dition of other days which had been gradu- 
ally expanded, and to which the country was 
wonted, that his words carried with them the 
sanction of public law. A careful examination 
of the writings of the earlier statesmen of the 
Republic will illustrate the growth of the Mon- 
roe doctrine as an idea dimly entertained at 
first, but steadily developed by the course of 
public events and the reflection of those in pub- 
lic life. I have not made a thorough search, 
11 



162 JAMES MONROE. 

but some indications of the mode in which the 
doctrine was evolved have come under my eye 
which may hereafter be added to by a more 
persistent investigator. 

The idea of independence from foreign sover- 
eignty was at the beginning of oar national life. 
The term " continental," applied to the army, 
the congress, the currency, had made familiar 
the notion of continental independence. This 
kept in mind the notion of a continental do- 
main. Moreover, in the writings, both public 
and private, of the fathers of the Republic, we 
see how clearly they recognized the value of 
separation from European politics, and of re- 
pelling, as far as possible, European interfer- 
ence with American interests. 

1. Governor Thomas Pownall, in a work en- 
titled " A Memorial to the Sovereigns of Eu- 
rope," observed, in 1780, that a people " whose 
empire stands singly predominant on a great 
continent " can hardly " suffer in their borders 
such a monopoly as the European Hudson Bay 
Company ; " and again, " America must avoid 
complication with European politics," or " the 
entanglement of alliances, having no connections 
with Europe other than commercial." l 

2. One of the earliest of like allusions hap- 

1 These citations from Pownall are taken from Sumner's 
Prophetic Voices concerning America, pp. 123, 124. 



THE MONROE DOCTRINE. 163 

pens to be in a letter of Monroe to Madison, 
December 6, 1784, when he says that " the 
conduct of Spain respecting the Mississippi, 
etc., requires the immediate attention of Con- 
gress." 

3. A few months later, June 17, 1785, Jeffer- 
son, writing to Monroe from Paris, begs him to 
add his " testimony to that of every thinking 
American, in order to satisfy our countrymen 
how much it is their interest to preserve, unin- 
fected by contagion, those peculiarities in their 
government and manners to which they are in- 
debted for those blessings." 

4. Washington wrote to Jefferson, January 
1, 1788, in the interval which preceded the rati- 
fication of the Constitution : l " An energetic 
general government must prevent the several 
States from involving themselves in the polit- 
ical disputes of the European powers." 

5. When Washington's first term drew near 
its close he submitted to Madison the draft of 
a farewell address (May 20, 1792), and in it 
he gives emphasis to the independence of the 
United States, in a phrase which with various 
turns was perpetuated through the subsequent 
revisions of that paper. His original language 
was this : " The extent of our country, the di- 

1 Quoted by Bancroft from MS., Hist, of the Constitution, ii. 
299. 



164 JAMES MONROE. 

versity of our climate and soil, and the various 
productions of the States consequent to both, 
. . . may render the whole, at no distant pe- 
riod, one of the most independent nations in the 
world" 

6. Madison's modification of this draft has 
the following sentence (June 20, 1792) : " The 
diversities [of this country] may give to the 
whole a more entire independence than has, 
perhaps, fallen to the lot of any other nation." 

7. Four years later (prior to May 10, 1796), 
Washington submits to Hamilton memoranda 
for a farewell address, and says again : "If 
this country can remain in peace twenty years 
longer . . . such in all probability will be its 
population, riches, and resources, when com- 
bined with its peculiarly happy and remote 
situation from the other quarters of the globe, 
as to hid defiance in a just cause to any earthly 
'power whatsoever.'''' 

8. The address finally issued, says : " The 
great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign 
nations is, in extending our commercial relations, 
to have with them as little political connection 
as possible." " Europe has a set of primary 
interests which to us have none or a verv re- 
mote relation." " Our detached and distant sit- 
uation." " Why forego the advantages of so 
peculiar a situation?" (September 17, 1796.) 



THE MONROE DOCTRINE. 165 

9. John Adams speaks thus in his first in- 
augural address (March 4, 1797) : " If [the 
control of an election] can be obtained by for- 
eign nations by flattery or menaces, by fraud 
or violence, by terror, intrigue, or venality, the 
government may not be the choice of the Amer- 
ican people but of foreign nations. It may be 
foreign nations who govern us, and not we the 
people who govern ourselves." 

10. In the second annual address of Adams 
this paragraph occurs (December 8, 1798) : — 

" To the usual subjects of gratitude I cannot omit 
to add one of the first importance to our well-being 
and safety — I mean that spirit which has arisen in 
our country against the menaces and aggressions of 
a foreign nation. A manly sense of national honor, 
dignity, and independence has appeared, which, if en- 
couraged and invigorated by every branch of the 
government, will enable us to view undismayed the 
enterprises of any foreign power, and become the 
sure foundation of national prosperity and glory." 

11. There are three extracts from Jefferson's 
writings which show the tendency of his mind 
at the beginning of the century. He said to 
Thomas Paine (March 18, 1801) : 1 — 

" Determined as we are to avoid, if possible, wast- 
ing the energies of our people in war and destruction, 
we shall avoid implicating ourselves with the powers 
1 Jefferson's Works, iv. 370. 



166 JAMES MONROE. 

of Europe, even in support of principles which we 
mean to pursue. They have so many other interests 
different from ours, that we must avoid being entan- 
gled in them. We believe we can enforce those prin- 
ciples, as to ourselves, by peaceable means, now that 
we are likely to have our public councils detached 
from foreign views." 

A little later he wrote to William Short (Oc- 
tober 3, 1801) :* — 

" We have a perfect horror at everything like 
connecting ourselves with the politics of Europe. 
It would indeed be advantageous to us to have neu- 
tral rights established on a broad ground ; but no de- 
pendence can be placed in any European coalition 
for that. They have so many other by-interests of 
greater weight that some one or other will always 
be bought off. To be entangled with them would be 
a much greater evil than a temporary acquiescence in 
the false principles which have prevailed." 

Again he says (October 29, 1808): "We 
consider their interests and ours as the same, 
and that the object of both must be to exclude 
all European influence in this hemisphere." 2 

1 Works, iv. 414. 

2 This quotation is made by Schouler in a note, where he 
says, " The germ of the Monroe doctrine of later develop- 
ment is early seen in Jefferson's correspondence in view of the 
Spanish uprising against Bonaparte and its possible effects 
upon Cuba and Mexico, which he is well satisfied to leave in 
their present dependence." Hist, of the United States, ii. 202. 



THE MONROE DOCTRINE. 167 

12. At a cabinet meeting May 13, 1818, Pres- 
ident Monroe propounded several questions on 
the subject of foreign affairs, of which the 
fifth, as recorded by J. Q. Adams, 1 was this : 
" Whether the ministers of the United States 
in Europe shall be instructed that the United 
States will not join in any project of interpo- 
sition between Spain and the South Americans, 
which should not be to promote the complete in- 
dependence of those provinces; and whether 
measures shall be taken to ascertain if this be 
the policy of the British government, and if so 
to establish a concert with them for the sup- 
port of this policy." He adds that all these 
points were discussed, without much difference 
of opinion. 

13. On July 31, 1818, Rush had an impor- 
tant interview with Castelreagh in respect to a 
proposed mediation of Great Britain between 
Spain and her colonies. The cooperation of 
the United States was desired. Mr. Rush in- 
formed the British minister that " the United 
States would decline taking part, if they took 
part at all, in any plan of pacification, except 
on the basis of the independence of the colonies. 
This," he added, " was the determination to 
which his government had come on much delib- 
eration." 

1 Diary, iv. 



168 JAMES MONROE. 

14. August 4, 1820, Jefferson writes to Wil- 
liam Short: 1 — 

" From many conversations with him [M. Cor- 
rea, appointed minister to Brazil by the government 
of Portugal], I hope he sees, and will promote in 
his new situation, the advantages of a cordial fra- 
ternization among all the American nations, and the 
importance of their coalescing in an American system 
of policy, totally independent of and unconnected 
with that of Europe. The day is not distant when 
we may formally require a meridian of partition 
through the ocean which separates the two hemi- 
spheres, on the hither side of which no European 
gun shall ever be heard, nor an American on the 
other ; and when, during the rage of the eternal wars 
of Europe, the lion and the lamb, within our regions, 
shall lie down together in peace. . . . The princi- 
ples of society there and here, then, are radically dif- 
ferent, and I hope no American patriot will ever lose 
sight of the essential policy of interdicting in the 
seas and territories of both Americas, the ferocious 
and sanguinary contests of Europe. I wish to see 
this coalition begun." 

15. Gallatin writes to J. Q. Adams, June 24, 
1823, that before leaving Paris be had said to 
M. Chateaubriand on May 13, " The United 
States would undoubtedly preserve their neu- 
trality provided it were respected, and avoid 

1 BandalTs Jefferson, iii. 472. 



THE MONROE DOCTRINE. 169 

every interference with the politics of Europe. 
. . . On the other hand, they would not suffer 
others to interfere against the emancipation of 
America." x 

A year previously, April 26, 1822, he had 
written from Paris that he had said to Mon- 
sieur, "America, having acquired the power, had 
determined to be no longer governed by Eu- 
rope, . . . that we had done it [recognized the 
independence of the Spanish-American prov- 
inces] without any reference to the form of 
government adopted by the several provinces, 
and that the question, being one of national in- 
dependence, was really altogether unconnected 
with any of those respecting internal institu- 
tions which agitated Europe." 

16. John Quincy Adams, in his diary under 
date of July 17, 1823, makes a note which the 
editor of that work regards as " the first hint of 
the policy so well known afterwards as the Mon- 
roe Doctrine." 2 In a conversation with Baron 
Tuyl, the Russian minister, on the Northwest 
Coast question, Mr. Adams, then Secretary of 
State, told him that " we should contest the 
right of Russia to any territorial establishment 
on this continent, and that we should assume 
distinctly the principle that the American con- 

1 Writings of Gallatin, by Adams, ii. p. 271 ; ii. p. 240. 

2 Diary, vi. 163. 



170 JAMES MONROE. 

tinents are no longer subjects for any new 
European colonial establishments." 

17. After Canning had proposed to Rush 
(September 19, 1823) that the United States 
should cooperate with England in preventing 
European interference with the Spanish-Amer- 
ican colonies, Monroe consulted Jefferson as 
well as the cabinet, on the course which it was 
advisable to take, and with their approbation 
prepared his message. Jefferson's reply to the 
President (October 24, 1823) was as follows : l 

" The question presented by the letters you have 
sent me is the most momentous which has ever been 
offered to my contemplation since that of Independ- 
ence. That made us a nation, this sets our compass 
and points the course which we are to steer through 
the ocean of time opening on us. And never could 
we embark on it under circumstances more auspicious. 
Our first and fundamental maxim should be, never to 
entangle ourselves in the broils of .Europe. Our sec- 
ond, never to suffer Europe to intermeddle with cis- 
Atlantic affairs. America, North and South, has a 
set of interests distinct from those of Europe, and 
peculiarly her own. She should therefore have a 
system of her own, separate and apart from that of 
Europe. While the last is laboring to become the 
domicile of despotism, our endeavor should surely be, 
to make our hemisphere that of freedom." 

i Randall, iii. 491. 



THE MONROE DOCTRINE. 171 

An extract, dated 1824, and recently pub- 
lished, from the Diary of William Plumer, who 
was a member of Congress during Monroe's ad- 
ministration, gives to John Quincy Adams the 
credit of drafting the important portions of the 
message. He says that a day or two before 
Congress met Monroe was hesitating about the 
allusion to the interference of the Holy Alli- 
ance with Spanish America, and consulted the 
Secretary of State about omitting it. Adams 
remained firm, replying, " You have my senti- 
ments on the subject already, and I see no rea- 
son to alter them." " Well," said the Presi- 
dent, " it is written, and I will not change it 
now." ! 

Enough has been quoted to show that Mr. 
Sumner 2 is not justified in saying that the 
" Monroe doctrine proceeded from Canning," 
and that he was " its inventor, promoter, and 
champion, at least so far as it bears against 
European intervention in American affairs." 
Nevertheless, Canning is entitled to high praise 
for the part which he took in the recognition 
of the Spanish republics, a part which almost 
justified his proud utterance, " I called the New 
World into existence to redress the balance of 
the Old." 

1 Penn. Mag. of Hist, and Biog. vol. vi. No. 3, p. 358. 

2 See his Prophetic Voices, pp. 157-160. 



172 JAMES MONROE. 

If memoranda of Monroe's upon this subject 
are still extant they have eluded me. There is 
a letter to him from one of his family (Decem- 
ber 6) praising the message, and adding these 
sentences which show the expectations of the 
friends of the administration. 1 

" You have a full indemnification for all the time 
and attention it may have cost you, in the sentiment 
which has accompanied it throughout the nation, and 
I mistake greatly if it do not excite a feeling in Eu- 
rope as honorable to our country as it may be unac- 
ceptable to many there. You will have the merit of 
proposing an enlightened system of policy, which 
promises to secure the united liberties of the New 
World, and to counteract the deep laid schemes in the 
Old for the establishment of an universal despotism. 
The sentiments and feelings which the message ex- 
presses, you may be assured, will be echoed with 
pride and pleasure from every portion of our widely 
extended country, and will be esteemed to have given 
to our national character new claims upon the civil- 
ized world. 

" The operation of your message also upon the 
reputation of your own administration cannot be 
mistaken. Effecting higher objects, it will also be 
distinctly traced in the prostration of those limited 
views of policy which have infected so many of those 
who have been intrusted of late with a portion of the 
powers and character of our country, and in the 

1 Gouverneur MSS. 



TEE MONROE DOCTRINE. 173 

diffusion among our citizens of a great confidence 
in the general administration, so essential to the 
prosperity of our system. By giving a new and ex- 
alted direction to the public reflections, a tone of 
feeling and expression must succeed as fatal to the 
pretended patriots of the two last years as it will be 
honorable to those who, at the risk of popularity, 
have been the objects of their clamorous abuse." * 

The Monroe doctrine came before Congress 
in less than three years, when the propriety of 
sending ministers to the Congress of Panama 
was debated. Mr. McLane was opposed to any 
course which should bind the United States to 
resist interference from abroad in the concerns 
of the South American governments, and Mr. 
Rives wished to declare still more explicitly 
that the United States was not pledged to 
maintain by force the principle that no part of 
the American continent was henceforward sub- 
ject to colonization by any European power. 
Daniel Webster made a speech, April 11, 1826, 
on the Panama mission, in which he came boldly 
to the defence of the Monroe doctrine. The 
country's honor, he said, is involved in that dec- 
laration ; " I look upon it as a part of its treas- 
ures of reputation, and for one I intend to 
guard it." After reviewing the political history 

1 I am indebted to Mr. Morse, the editor of this series of 
volumes, for four of these citations. 



/ 



174 JAMES MONROE. 

from the Congress of Verona onward, he con- 
tinued, " I look on the message of December, 
1823, as forming a bright page in our history. 
I will help neither to erase it nor tear it out ; 
nor shall it be by any act of mine blurred or 
blotted. It did honor to the sagacity of the 
government and I will not diminish that hon- 



or." i 



1 Works, iii. 205. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

PEKSONAL ASPECT AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS. 

Little has been said hitherto of Monroe's 
domestic and personal characteristics, but I 
cannot close the narrative without some refer- 
ence to them, — beginning with a mention of 
his happy marriage and his family ties. While 
attending Congress in New York, he became 
engaged to Miss Eliza Kortwright, daughter of 
Lawrence Kortwright of that city, a lady of 
high social standing and of great beauty. He 
consulted his relative and life-long friend, Judge 
Jones, on this important matter, and received 
from him this counsel, which, however admir- 
able for its discretion and caution, was certainly 
not likely to influence a man of twenty-eight 
who was ardently in love. 

JUDGE JONES TO JAMES MONROE. 

" You will act prudently (so soon as you deter- 
mine to fix yourself to business) to form the connec- 
tion you propose with the person you mention or 
some other, as your inclination and convenience shall 
dictate. Sensibility and kindness of heart, good- 






176 JAMES MONROE. 

nature without levity, a moderate share of good 
sense, with some portion of domestic experience and 
economy, will generally, if united in the female char- 
acter, produce that happiness and benefit which re- 
sults from the married state, and is the highest human 
felicity a man can enjoy, and he cannot fail to enjoy 
it when he is blessed with a companion of such a 
disposition and behavior, unless he is so weak and 
imprudent as to be his own tormentor. You have 
reached that period of life to be capable of thinking 
and acting for yourself in this delicate and interesting 
business, and I can only assure you that any accom- 
modation I shall be able to afford you, to render 
yours and her situation agreeable and easy, will be 
cheerfully afforded, which, should fortune be want- 
ing, will be more embarrassing in the commencement 
than any after period." 

It does not appear how carefully the lover 
weighed these words of wisdom, but the result 
of his own reflections appears in a letter to 
Madison, in which he announces his intended 
marriage. 

" If you visit this place shortly I will present you 
to a young lady who will be adopted a citizen of Vir- 
ginia in the course of this week." 

Three months later he writes to Jefferson : — 

" You will be surprised to hear that I have formed 
the most interesting connection in human life with a 
young lady in this town, as you know my plan was 



DOMESTIC RELATIONS. 177 

to visit you before I settled myself ; but having 
formed an attachment to this young lady — a Miss 
Kortwright, the daughter of a gentleman of respect- 
able character and connections in this state, though 
injured in his fortunes by the late war — I have 
found that I must relinquish all other objects not 
connected with her. We were married about three 
months since. I remain here until the fall, at which 
time we remove to Fredericksburg in Virginia, where 
I shall settle for the present in a house prepared for 
me by Mr. Jones, to enter into the practice of the 
law." 

The young lawyer had doubted where to 
make his permanent home, and his friendly 
relative went over the field carefully, and point- 
ed out to him the comparative advantages of 
Fredericksburg and Richmond, with particular 
reference to his profession. The former is at 
length determined on, and the choice is thus 
announced to Jefferson, August 19, 1786 : — 

" I shall leave this about the 1st of October for 
Virginia, — Fredericksburg. Believe me, I have not 
relinquished the prospect of being your neighbor. 
The house for which I have requested a plan may 
possibly be erected near Monticello ; to fix there, and 
to have yourself in particular, with what friends we 
may collect around, for society is my chief object ; 
or rather, the only one which promises to me, with 
the connection I have formed, real and substantial 
12 



178 JAMES MONROE. 

pleasure ; if, indeed, by the name of pleasure it may 
be called." 

There were two children of this marriage, 
Eliza, who married Judge George Hay of Vir- 
ginia; and Maria, who married Samuel L. 
Gouverneur of New York. When Monroe was 
in Paris his elder daughter was at school with 
Hortense Beauharnais, who became Queen of 
Holland, and their teacher was the celebrated 
Madame Campan. The acquaintance thus 
formed became a warm friendship. The child 
of Monroe's daughter was named Hortense or 
Hortensia, after Queen Hortense, who retained 
a warm interest in her namesake through her 
life. In a Baltimore family interesting me- 
mentos of this intimacy are carefully pre- 
served. Portraits in oil of Hortense and Eu- 
gene Beauharnais and of Madame Campan were 
sent to Hortensia Hay by the former queen, 
with an affectionate letter, and there are rea- 
sons to think that she remembered in her last 
will her American namesake. 1 

Monroe's interest in the various members of 
his family connection is marked by more than 
ordinary affection. He took great pains to 
further their material welfare, and make them 

1 The gentleman, Charles Wilmer, Esq., who owns these 
valuable pictures, has also a charming miniature of Mrs. Mon- 
roe, painted when she resided in Paris. 



DOMESTIC RELATIONS. 179 

comfortable in their outward affairs, but he was 
always on his guard against using his official 
station for the benefit of any relative. Just as 
he was about to sail for Europe he gave the fol- 
lowing advice to a nephew (June 1794). x It 
indicates, more accurately than any other letter 
which I recall, Monroe's moral principles. 

" You may by your industry, prudence, and studi- 
ous attention to your business, as well as to your 
books, make such exertions as will advance your for- 
tune and reputation in the world, whereby alone your 
happiness or even tranquillity can be secured. Not 
only the reality of these virtues must be possessed, 
but such an external must be observed as to satisfy 
the world you do possess them, otherwise you will 
not enjoy their confidence. You will recollect, like- 
wise, that heretofore your youth and inexperience 
were an excuse for any apparent levity or irregular- 
ity, but now that you are advancing in life, have a 
family and children, the case is altered. Solid merit 
and virtue alone will support and carry you with 
credit through the world. 

" The principal danger to which a young man com- 
mencing under limited resources is exposed, and in 
which, if he errs, he inflicts the most incurable wound 
on his reputation, is the abuse of pecuniary confi- 
dence. Let me, therefore, warn you never to use 
your client's money. No temptation is greater to a 
person possessed of it than that which daily arises 

1 Gouverneur MSS. 



180 JAMES MONROE. 

in the occurrences of a private family, to use this 
money, especially when the prospect of reimbursement 
furnishes the hope it may not be called for. Bat as 
the commencement of this practice breaks down to a 
certain degree that chaste and delicate refinement, 
which forms the strongest barrier for the protection 
of virtue, it should never be commenced. 

" I would make it one of those sacred rules of my 
life which should not be violated, never to use it. I 
believe you have no passion for anything of that kind. 
I sincerely hope you have not. I suggest this hint, 
therefore, rather to guard you against a danger which 
assails every young man, than that I believe you 
likely to suffer by it. I mean the vice of gambling. 
I recollect there is a billiard table near you. Let me 
warn you against it. A passion of this kind will con- 
trol, as it always has, every other. If it seizes you, 
your client's money will not be safe in your hands." 

Several sketches of Monroe, written at dif- 
ferent periods of his life, by different persons, 
will next be given. 

1799-1802. 

William Wirt, in the " Letters of a British 
Spy," which were published in a newspaper in 
1803, and afterwards reprinted in various forms, 
drew the portrait of Monroe at the time when 
first he was Governor. It is an interesting 
sketch by itself, but still more so in connection 
with a pendant likeness of the illustrious Mar- 



PERSONAL ASPECT. 181 

shall, whose career began with that of Monroe, 
in the college of William and Mary, and whose 
life was almost exactly contemporaneous. 

" In his stature," says Wirt, " he is about the mid- 
dle height of men, rather firmly set, with nothing 
further remarkable in his person, except his muscular 
compactness and apparent ability to endure labor. 
His countenance, when grave, has rather the expres- 
sion of sternness and irascibility ; a smile, however 
(and a smile is not unusual with him in a social cir- 
cle), lights it up to very high advantage, and gives it 
a most impressive and engaging air of suavity and 
benevolence. 

" His dress and personal appearance are those of 
a plain and modest gentleman. He is a man of soft, 
polite, and even assiduous attentions ; but these, al- 
though they are always well-timed, judicious, and 
evidently the offspring of an obliging and philan- 
thropic temper, are never performed with the strik- 
ing and captivating graces of a Marlborough or a 
Bolingbroke. To be plain, there is often in his man- 
ner an inartificial and even an awkward simplicity, 
which, while it provokes the smile of a more polished 
person, forces him to the opinion that Mr. Monroe is 
a man of a most sincere and artless soul." 

This is but a portion of the description. 



182 JAMES MONROE. 

1825. 

A letter from Mrs. Tuley, then of Virginia, 
recently published, 1 gives the following picture 
of the last levee at the White House, on New- 
Year's day, during Monroe's administration. 
When she entered the reception-room, 

" Mr. Monroe was standing near the door, and as 
we were introduced we bad the honor of shaking 
hands with him and passing the usual congratula- 
tions of the season. My impressions of Mr. Monroe 
are very pleasing. He is tall and well formed. His 
dress plain and in the old style, small clothes, silk hose, 
knee-buckles, and pumps fastened with buckles. His 
manner was quiet and dignified. From the frank, 
honest expression of his eye, which is said to be ' the 
window of the soul,' I think he well deserves the en- 
comium passed upon him by the great Jefferson, who 
said, ' Monroe was so honest that if you turned his 
soul inside out there would not be a spot on it.' 

" We passed on and were presented to Mrs. Mon- 
roe and her two daughters, Mrs. Judge Hay and Mrs. 
Gouverneur, who stood by their mother and assisted 
her in receiving. Mrs. Monroe's manner is very 
gracious and she is a regal-looking lady. Her dress 
was superb black velvet ; neck and arms bare and 
beautifully formed ; her hair in puffs and dressed 
high on the head and ornamented with white ostrich 
plumes ; around her neck an elegant pearl necklace. 

1 Philadelphia Times. 



PERSONAL ASPECT. 183 

Though no longer young, she is still a very hand- 
some woman. You remember Mrs. told us that, 

when Mr. Monroe was sent as Minister to France, 
Mrs. Monroe accompanied him, and in Paris she was 
called 'la belle Americaine.' She also told us that 
she was quite a belle in New York in the latter part 
of the Revolutionary War. Her maiden name was 
Kortwright. Mrs. Judge Hay (the President's eldest 
daughter) is very handsome also — tall and graceful, 
and, I hear, very accomplished. She was educated 
in Paris at the celebrated boarding-school kept by 
Mme. Campan, and among her intimate school friends 
was the beautiful Hortense de Beauharnais, step- 
daughter of the Emperor Napoleon. Her dress was 
crimson velvet, gold cord and tassel round the waist, 
white plumes in the hair, handsome jewelry, bare 
neck and arms. The other daughter, Mrs. Gouver- 
neur, is also very handsome — dress, rich white satin, 
trimmed with a great deal of blonde lace, embroid- 
ered with silver thread, bare neck and arms, pearl 
jewelry and white plumes in the hair. By the by, 
plumes in the hair seem to be the most fashionable 
style of head-dress for married ladies. 

"All the lower rooms were opened, and though 
well filled, not uncomfortably so. The rooms were 
warmed by great fires of hickory wood in the large 
open fire-places, and with the handsome brass and- 
irons and fenders quite remind me of our grand old 
wood fires in Virginia. Wine was handed about in 
wine-glasses on large silver salvers by colored wait- 
ers, dressed in dark livery, gilt buttons, etc. I sup- 



184 JAMES MONROE. 

pose some of them must have come from Mr. Mon- 
roe's old family seat, ' Oak Hill/ Virginia." 

1830. 

Here is an autographic sketch of the ex-Presi- 
dent's literary work, addressed to Mr. Gouver- 
neur : l — 

" I am engaged in a work which will be entitled 
'A biographical and historical view of the great 
events to which Mr. Monroe was a party and of 
which he was a spectator in the course of his public 
service/ — commencing with my service in the army, 
in the legislature and council of the State, in the 
revolutionary Congress and in the Senate. I have 
brought it to the conclusion of my first mission to 
France, which would, if printed, make about one 
hundred and twenty pages, and with the appendix, 
should it be thought advisable to add one, perhaps as 
many more. This work to this stage might be pub- 
lished at an early period as introductory to the se- 
quel, though, I being closely engaged in it, I could, 
if I have health, complete the whole in five or six 
months. I have composed in part another work, a 
comparison between our government and the ancient 
republics, and likewise with the government of Eng- 
land. Of this I have already extended it to a view 
of the government of Athens and Lacedemon, of 
Greece, of Carthage, with notes on that of Rome, to 
which I have drawn an introductory view of govern- 

i Gouverneur MSS. 



PERSONAL ASPECT. 185 

ment and society as the basis of the work. This 
work I could also finish in about the same time, by 
devoting myself to it. What I have already written 
would occupy more pages than that above mentioned. 
My correspondence, when in the War Department, of 
three hundred and ninety-four pages folio, I mean 
my own letters only, is another work which I intend 
at a proper time to publish. If my claims are re- 
jected I should wish to take the preparatory steps to 
a publication, by suitable notices in the public papers 
at the proper time. I think no part had better be 
published until that part is finished ; and to accom- 
plish which, that I had better devote myself to one 
of the works mentioned, exclusively in the first in- 
stance, the biographical one, for instance. I shall 
place occurrences and develop principles by a faith- 
ful attention to facts, manifesting no hostility to any 
one. The publication of any part cannot, I presume, 
be made till the fall, and no notice had better be 
taken of it till just before." 

1830. 
During the latter part of his life a gentleman 
who is now living in Charlottesville, Va., Judge 
E. R. Watson, was a member of Monroe's fam- 
ily, and retains a very vivid recollection of his 
appearance, occupations, and characteristics. He 
has been so kind as to prepare for insertion here 
the following reminiscences. 



186 JAMES MONROE. 

Judge Watson's Recollections. 
" In person Mr. Monroe was about six feet 
high,, perhaps rather more; broad and square- 
shouldered and raw-boned. When I knew him 
he was an old man (more than seventy years of 
age), and he looked perhaps even older than he 
was, his face being strongly marked with the 
lines of anxiety and care. His mouth was rather 
large, his nose of medium size and well-shaped, 
his forehead broad, and his eyes blue approach- 
ing gra}^. Altogether his face was a little 
rugged ; and I do not suppose he was ever 
handsome, but in his younger days he must 
have been a man of fine physique, and capable 
of great endurance. As an illustration of this, 
I remember hearing him say that immediately 
preceding the occupation of Washington by the 
British, and just after their retreat from the 
city, during the war of 1812, with the burden 
of three of the departments of the government 
resting upon him, — State, Treasury and War, 
— he did not undress himself for ten days and 
nights, and was in the saddle the greater part 
of the time. There was no grace about Mr. 
Monroe, either in appearance or manner. He 
was, in fact, rather an awkward man, and, even 
in his old age, a diffident one. Nevertheless, 
there was a calm and quiet dignity about him 



PERSONAL ASPECT. 187 

with which no one in his presence could fail 
to be impressed, and he was one of the most 
polite men I ever saw to all ranks and classes. 
It was his habit, in his ride of a morning or 
evening, to bow and speak to the humblest 
slave whom he passed as respectfully as if he 
had been the first gentleman in the neighbor- 
hood. I have heard him define true politeness 
as ' right feeling controlled by good common 
sense.' 

I do not know that I ever witnessed in Mr. 
Monroe any actual outbreak of temper, but 
I was always impressed with the idea that he 
was a man of very strong feelings and pas- 
sions, which, however, he had learned to control 
perfectly. I never heard him use an oath, or 
utter a word of profanity, and hence I was 
quite astonished when, on one occasion, I was 
talking with an old family servant about a gen- 
tleman who swore very hard, and he remarked, 
4 Bless your soul, you ought to hear old master ! 
He can give that man two in the deal and beat 
him.' In his intercourse with his family he 
was not only unvaryingly kind and affection- 
ate, but as gentle as a woman or a child. He 
was wholly unselfish. The wishes, the feelings, 
the interests, the happiness, of others were al- 
ways consulted in preference to his own. 

Being quite young at the time, I was not a 



188 JAMES MOXROE. 

very competent judge, but my recollection is 
that Mr. Monroe's conversational powers were 
not of a high order. He always used the plain- 
est, simplest language, but was not fluent, and 
was, it seemed to me, wholly wanting in imag- 
ination. He lacked the versatility, and I should 
say also the general culture, requisite for shin- 
ing in the social circle, but was always inter- 
esting and instructive ; when with good listeners 
he led in conversation, and talked of the scenes 
and events through which he had passed, et 
quorum magna pars fuit. Whilst I was a mem- 
ber of Mr. Monroe's family it was his habit, 
when the weather and his health would allow, 
and the presence of visitors did not prevent, to 
ride out morning and evening, and I was very 
often his only companion. On these occasions 
he always talked of the past, and I was strongly 
impressed with the idea that he must have been 
in his public career essentially a man of action ; 
content even that others might share the credit 
really due to him, if he could only enjoy the 
consciousness of doing his duty and rendering 
his country service. Love of country and de- 
votion to duty appeared to me the explanation 
of his success in life and the honors bestowed 
upon him. There was not the least particle of 
conceit in Mr. Monroe, and yet he seemed al- 
ways strongly to feel that he had rendered 



PERSONAL ASPECT. 189 

great public service. From Washington to John 
Quincy Adams, he was the associate and co-la- 
borer of the greatest and best men of his day. 
Yet he had no feeling of envy towards any of 
them ; and though he felt that some had not 
always treated him justly, he took far more 
pleasure in commending their high qualities 
and patriotic services than in referring to his 
wrongs, real or imaginary. 

One striking peculiarity about Mr. Monroe 
was his sensitiveness, his timidity in reference 
to public sentiment. I do not mean as it re- 
spected his past public life. As to that he 
appeared to feel secure. But in retirement his 
great care seemed to be to do and say nothing 
unbecoming in an ex-President of the United 
States. He thought it incumbent on him to 
have nothing to do with party politics. This 
was beneath the dignity of an ex-President, and 
it was unjust to the people who had so highly 
honored him, to seek to throw the weight of his 
name and character on either side of any con- 
test between them. Hence Mr. Monroe, after 
retiring from office, rarely, if ever, expressed his 
opinions of public men or measures, except 
confidentially. Over and over again, in the 
early days of Jackson's administration, did he 
speak freely to me of that remarkable man, 
of Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Webster, Mr. Clay, and 



190 JAMES MONROE. 

others scarcely less prominent, as well as of the 
principles and measures with which they were 
respectively identified ; but always with the in- 
junction that what he said was never to be re- 
peated. I recollect well to this day some of his 
opinions as then expressed, and have often re- 
gretted that I did not make some note of them 
all. But the truth is, I was so much afraid 
that in some unguarded moment I might betray 
the confidence reposed in me, that I sought 
rather to forget than to treasure up what he said 
about men and measures of the day. 

I cannot recall more than a single instance in 
which, in company, he expressed any opinion as 
to the character or conduct of prominent public 
men, except in so far as he could approve and 
commend them. On one occasion John Ran- 
dolph of Roanoke was the subject of discussion 
among several gentlemen present, who differed 
widely in their estimates of his character and 
services. Finally Mr. Monroe was appealed to 
for his opinion by one of Mr. Randolph's ad- 
mirers, in a way which indicated that the party 
addressing him scarcely expected any direct 
answer. Very promptly, however, Mr. Monroe 
replied, 4 Well, Mr. Randolph is, I think, a cap- 
ital hand to pull down, but I am not aware that 
he has ever exhibited much skill as a builder.' 

Mr. Monroe's official life was marked by the 



PERSONAL ASPECT. 191 

same deference to and fear of offending public 
sentiment. My impression is that daring his 
whole presidential term he appointed no rela- 
tive or near connection to office. His two sons- 
in-law were George Hay of Virginia, and Sam- 
uel L. Gouverneur of New York. The former 
was a lawyer of eminent ability and a man of 
the very highest character, and was promptly 
appointed to a Federal Judgeship (the same 
now held by Judge Hughes of Virginia) by 
John Quincy Adams ; but he received nothing 
at the hands of Mr. Monroe. And so with Mr. 
Gouverneur; he was a talented and popular 
young man, of one of the best families of New 
York, but he received no Federal appointment 
till Mr. Adams had succeeded Mr. Monroe. 
Then Adams made him postmaster of New 
York. Judge Hay had a son (by his first mar- 
riage), Charles Hay, who was made chief clerk 
of the Navy Department under Mr. Adams, but 
held no office under Mr. Monroe. The latter, 
as I heard from his own lips, was not willing, 
in making any appointment, to lay himself lia- 
ble even to the suspicion of being influenced by 
any other consideration than the public good. 

Though Mr. Monroe in early life practised 
law, I feel very sure he could not have been 
a very good speaker. He wrote with no great 
facility, but with pains. His handwriting was 



192 JAMES MONROE. 

very bad. Some time in 1829, possibly in 1830, 
by his horse falling with him, he sprained his 
right wrist very badly, and for some time could 
not write at all. I often acted as his amanuensis. 
His correspondence was immense, and with the 
best and wisest men of his day. I do not re- 
member whether he kept copies of his letters. 
I rather think he did not. But I have often 
thought that from those written to him there 
might be gathered a vast amount of valuable 
material bearing upon the history of the coun- 
try, and the character and conduct of its public 
men. 

I have intimated that Mr. Monroe was prob- 
ably deficient in general culture. If this be 
true, it is equally true that he was a student of 
history, especially of ancient history. Whilst 
I was with him he completed the manuscript 
of a little work entitled, I think, ' A Com- 
parison of the American Republic with the Re- 
publics of Greece and Rome.' Every line of 
this I copied for him. On its completion he 
showed it Judge Hay (who, with his family, 
lived with him), and asked him to read it and 
tell him what he thought of it. I well remem- 
ber that, after examining it, Judge Hay said 
to Mr. Monroe, ' I think your time could have 
been better employed. If the framers of our 
Constitution could have had some work, from 



PERSONAL ASPECT. 193 

a modern stand-point, on the Constitutions of 
Greece and Rome, it might have been of value 
to them. I do not think yours is of practical 
value now. A history of your Life and Times, 
written by yourself, would really be interesting 
and valuable.' The idea seemed quite new to 
Mr. Monroe. Such was his modesty and self- 
depreciation that he had never thought of it 
before. The suggestion, however, had control- 
ling weight, and Mr. Monroe immediately be- 
gan to prepare such a work, and made some 
progress in it, but how much I cannot say. 
His memory of past events was remarkable ; 
and as from the very beginning of the Revolu- 
tion, when he became a member of Washing- 
ton's military family, to the close of his presi- 
dency, he was intimately associated with the 
government and those who controlled it, it is 
greatly to be deplored that his life and health 
were not spared to enable him to complete the 
work. It might not have been distinguished 
by literary merit, but it would have been 
marked, in my humble judgment, by a degree 
of truth, impartiality, and justice which never 
have been and never will be surpassed by any 
human production. I have often wondered 
what had become of this fragment of Mr. Mon- 
roe's i Life and Times,' as well as the little 
work which I copied for him. 

13 



194 JAMES MONROE. 

Mr. Monroe was warmly attached to his 
friends. He never forgot a service rendered 
him, whether in public or private life. But in 
his friendship and affection for Mr. Madison 
there was something touching and beautiful. 
Washington and Jefferson he greatly admired, 
but Mr. Madison he loved with his whole heart. 
They were once rival candidates for office, but 
from what I have heard Mr. Monroe say I do 
not suppose there was ever, for a single mo- 
ment, the slightest feeling of estrangement or 
unkindness between them. 

I have several times seen them together at 
Montpelier, and, as it seemed to me, it was only 
in Mr. Madison's society that Mr. Monroe could 
lay aside his usual seriousness and indulge in 
the humorous jest and merry laugh, as if he 
were young again. 

Mrs. Monroe was Eliza Kortwright of New 
York, the niece, I think, of General Knox, of 
Revolutionary fame. Even in old age and 
feeble health she bore traces of having been 
very beautiful in early life. She survived 
Judge Hay but a short time. I was at Oak 
Hill, on a visit, when she died. She was not 
buried for several days, the delay being occa- 
sioned by the construction of a vault, designed 
not only for her remains but for those also of 
Mr. Monroe, as he himself told me. I shall 



PERSONAL ASPECT. 195 

never forget the touching grief mamiested by 
the old man on the morning after Mrs. Mon- 
roe's death, when he sent for me to go to his 
room, and with trembling frame and streaming 
eyes spoke of the long years they had spent 
happily together, and expressed in strong terms 
his conviction that he would soon follow her. 
In this connection he spoke of his purpose to 
build a vault for the remains of both of them ; 
and I have often thought it would have been 
well if, when Virginia caused his remains to 
be removed to Richmond, those of Mrs. Mon- 
roe had been also removed and laid side by side 
with them. 

The death of Mr. Monroe occurred on the 
4th of July of the next year (1831), at the 
residence of his son-in-law, Mr. Gouverneur, in 
the city of New York. I have a strong impres- 
sion that Mr. Monroe either told me in person, 
or wrote to me, that his purpose in going to 
New York was not only to visit his daughter, 
but especially to see his friend William Wirt, 
to whom he was devotedly attached." 

Near the End of Life. 

Here are two almost pathetic letters, one 
from Monroe to Madison, the other from Mad- 
ison to Monroe, written in the spring of 1831. 



196 JAMES MONROE. 

MONROE TO MADISON. 1 

I have intended for some time to write and ex- 
plain to you the arrangement I have made for my 
future residence, and respecting my private affairs 
with a view to my comfort, so far as I may expect 
it, but it has been painful to me to execute it. 

My ill state of health continuing, consisting of a 
cough, which annoys me by night and by day with 
considerable expectoration, considering my advanced 
years, although my lungs are not affected, renders 
the restoration of my health very uncertain, or in- 
deed any favorable change in it. In such a state I 
could not reside on my farm. The solitude would be 
very distressing, and its cares very burdensome. It 
is the wish of both my daughters, and of the whole 
connection, that I should remain here and receive 
their good offices, which I have decided to do. I do 
not wish to burden them. It is my intention to rent 
a house near Mr. Gouverneur, and to live within my 
own resources so far as I may be able. I could make 
no establishment of any kind without the sale of 
my property in Loudoun, which I have advertised for 
the 8th of June, and given the necessary power to Mr. 
Gouverneur and my nephew James. If my health 
will permit, I will visit it in the interim and arrange 
affairs there for that event and my removal here. 
The accounting officers have made no decision on my 
claims, and have given me much trouble. I have writ- 
ten them that I would make out no account adapted 

Monroe MSS. 



PERSONAL ASPECT. 197 

to the act, which fell far short of making me a just 
reparation, and that I had rather lose the whole sum 
than give to it any sanction, be the consequences 
what they may. I never recovered from the losses 
of the first mission, to which those of the second 
added considerably. 

It is very distressing to me to sell my property in 
Loudoun, for, besides parting with all I have in the 
State, I indulged a hope, if I could retain it, that I 
might be able occasionally to visit it, and meet my 
friends, or many of tbem, there. But ill health and 
advanced years prescribe a course which we must 
pursue. I deeply regret that there is no prospect of 
our ever meeting again, since so long have we been 
connected, and in the most friendly intercourse, in 
public and private life, that a final separation is 
among the most distressing incidents which could oc- 
cur. I shall resign my seat as a visitor at the Board 
in due time to enable the Executive to fill the va- 
cancy, that my successor may attend tjie next meet- 
ing. I beg you to assure Mrs. Madison that I never 
can forget the friendly relation which has existed 
between her and my family. It often reminds me 
of incidents of the most interesting character. My 
daughter, Mrs. Hay, will live with me, who, with 
the whole family here, unite in affectionate regards to 
both of you. 

Very sincerely, your friend, 

J. M. 

New York, April 11, 1831. 



198 JAMES MONROE. 

MADISON TO MONROE. 1 

Montpelier, April 21, 1831. 
Dear Sir, — I have duly received yours of [April 
11]. I considered the advertisement of your estate 
in Loudoun as an omen that your friends in Virginia 
were to lose you. It is impossible to gainsay the 
motives to which you yielded in making New York 
your residence, though I fear you will find its climate 
unsuited to your period of life and the state of your 
health. I just observe, and with much pleasure, that 
the sum voted by Congress, however short of just 
calculations, escapes the loppings to which it was 
exposed from the accounting process at "Washington, 
and that you are so far relieved from the vexations 
involved in it. The result will, I hope, spare you at 
least the sacrifice of an untimely sale of your valu- 
able property ; and I would fain flatter myself that, 
with an encouraging improvement of your health, you 
might be brought to reconsider the arrangement 
which fixes you elsewhere. The effect of this, in 
closing the prospect of our ever meeting again, afflicts 
me deeply ; certainly not less so than it can you. 
The pain I feel at the idea, associated as it is with 
a recollection of the long, close, and uninterrupted 
friendship which united us, amounts to a pang which 
I cannot well express, and which makes me seek 
for an alleviation in the possibility that you may be 
brought back to us in the wonted degree of inter- 
course. This is a happiness my feelings covet, not- 

1 Madison's Writings, vol. iv. pp. 178-179. 



PERSONAL ASPECT. 199 

withstanding the short period I could expect to en- 
joy it ; being now, though in comfortable health, a 
decade beyond the canonical three-score and ten, an 
epoch which you have but just passed. 

As you propose to make a visit to Loudoun previ- 
ous to the notified sale, if the state of your health 
permits, why not, with the like permission, extend 
the trip to this quarter? The journey, at a rate of 
your own choice, might cooperate in the reestablish- 
ment of your health, whilst it would be a peculiar 
gratification to your friends, and, perhaps, enable you 
to join your colleagues at the University once more 
at least. It is much to be desired that you should 
continue, as long as possible, a member of the Board, 
and I hope you will not send in your resignation in 
case you find your cough and weakness giving way 
to the influence of the season and the innate strength 
of your constitution. I will not despair of your be- 
ing able to keep up your connection with Virginia 
by retaining Oak Hill and making it not less than an 
occasional residence. Whatever may be the turn of 
things, be assured of the unchangeable interest felt 
by Mrs. Madison, as well as myself, in your welfare, 
and in that of all who are dearest to you. 

In explanation of my microscopic writing, I must 
remark that the older I grow the more my stiffening 
fingers make smaller letters, as my feet take shorter 
steps, the progress in both cases being, at the same 
time, more fatiguing as well as more slow. 



CHAPTER IX. 

RETROSPECT. — REPUTATION. 

Monroe retired from his high office March 
4, 1825, and during the seven years which re- 
mained of his life divided his time between his 
home at Oak Hill, in Loudoun County, Virginia, 
and the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Gouver- 
neur, in the city of New York. He accepted 
the post of Regent in the University of Vir- 
ginia, which was instituted in 1826, and gave 
his personal attention to the duties of the office, 
with Jefferson and Madison. He was asked to 
serve on the electoral ticket of Virginia in 1828, 
but declined to do so, on the ground that an 
ex-President should refrain from an active par- 
ticipation in political contests. He consented, 
however, to act as a local magistrate and to be- 
come a member of the Virginia constitutional 
convention, which assembled a little later. 
He maintained an active correspondence with 
friends at home and abroad, and, what is much 
more remarkable, he undertook to compose a 
philosophical history of the origin of free gov- 
ernments, for which his literary training was 



RETROSPECT. — REP UTA TION. 201 

quite inadequate. This treatise was published 
in 1867. 

Monroe, throughout his later days, was 
somewhat embarrassed in his pecuniary cir- 
cumstances, and spent a great deal of time in 
endeavoring to secure from Congress a just re- 
imbursement for the heavy expenses in which 
he had been involved during his prolonged ser- 
vices abroad. It is truly pitiful to perceive the 
straits to which so patriotic a servant of the 
country, against whose financial integrity not 
a word was uttered, was reduced ; particularly 
when the expenditures he had incurred were, 
to a very large amount, required by the posi- 
tions to which his countrymen had called him, 
and for which they made inadequate remuner- 
ation. No private subscription came to honor 
or relieve him. Lafayette, with a generous 
impulse and with great delicacy of procedure, 
offered him relief. 1 Some allowance was at 
length made by Congress, and after his death 
his heirs received a moderate sum for the pa- 
pers he had preserved. His old age was much 
given to retrospection, doubtless quickened by 
the necessity of reviewing his accounts in justi- 
fication of his claims. A letter to Judge Mc- 
Lean mav be found in his manuscripts, with 
a note that the form was altered, though the 
spirit was preserved. 2 It reads as follows : — 
1 Ante, page, 154. 2 Monroe MSS. 



202 JAMES MONROE. 

MONROE TO MCLEAN. 

Oak Hill, December 5, 1827. 

I have read with great interest your letter of the 
15th ult. The course which you have pursued in 
the administration corresponds with that which I had 
anticipated. I was satisfied that you had done your 
duty to your country, and acquitted yourself to the 
just claims of those with whom you were officially 
connected. 

It has afforded me great pleasure to find that the 
Department has considerably improved, under your 
management, in all the great objects of the institu- 
tion, the more extensive circulation of political and 
commercial intelligence among the great body of our 
fellow citizens and the augmentation of the revenue. 
This sentiment seems to be general throughout the 
community, which it would not be if it was not con- 
firmed by unquestionable evidence. By the faithful 
and useful discharge of your public duties you have 
given the best support which could be rendered to 
the administration of Mr. Adams, and of which he 
must be sensible. No person at the fyead of the gov- 
ernment has, in my opinion, any claim to the active" 
partisan exertions of those in office under him. Jus- 
tice to his public acts, friendly feelings, and a candid 
and honorable deportment towards him, without for- 
getting what is due to others, are all that he has a 
right to expect, and in those I am satisfied you have 
never failed. Your view, in regard to my concerns, 
corresponds also with my own. I shall never apply 



RETROSPECT. — REP UTATION. 203 

again to Congress, let my situation be what it may. 
The only point on which my mind has balanced is, 
whether the republication of my memoir, remarks, 
and documents, in a pamphlet, would be proper and 
useful. Those papers relate to important public 
events in both my missions and in the late war, and 
since, while I held an office in the administration. I 
was charged with a failure to perform my duty in 
my first mission, and recalled from it and censured. 

The book which I published on my return home, 
with the official documents which it contained, vindi- 
cated me against the charge, and on that ground I 
then left it. The parties are since dead, and I am 
now retired to private life. I never doubted the 
perfect integrity of General Washington, nor the 
strength or energy of his mind, and was personally 
attached to him. I admired his patriotism, and had 
full confidence in his attachment to liberty and solic- 
itude for the success of the French Revolution. 

It being necessary to advert to that occurrence, 
in my communication to the committee which was 
first appointed on my claims, I availed myself of the 
occasion to express a sentiment corresponding with 
the above in his favor, as I likewise did in the me- 
moir since published. The documents published with 
it prove, in minute detail, not only that I faithfully 
performed my duty to my country, but exerted my 
best faculties, on all occasions, in support of his char- 
acter and fame. The letters of Major Mountflor- 
ence, which I had forgotten that I possessed, are ma- 
terial on both points. They prove that the French 



204 JAMES MONROE. 

government charged me with having prevented it 
from taking measures which it deemed due to the 
honor of France, for eight months, and that it had 
withdrawn its confidence from, and ceased to commu- 
nicate with, me at the very moment when I was re- 
called by my own government. Major Mountflor- 
ence was no particular friend or associate of mine. 
I found him in France, on my arrival there. He was 
the friend of Mr. Morris, my predecessor, and, as 
I understand, from Tennessee. Mr. Skipwith em- 
ployed him as the chancellor in his office, on account 
of his acquaintance with our affairs and knowledge 
of the French language. He passed daily, on the 
business of the consulate, through the several depart- 
ments of the government, and was acquainted with 
the principal officers, especially the clerks in each, 
and on that account I instructed him to make the in- 
quiries to which his reports relate. All the other 
documents correspond with and support his state- 
ment, which they extend to other objects that are 
very interesting. 

I was likewise charged in that mission with specu- 
lation, in consequence of a purchase which I made of 
a house. The documents published show clearly the 
motive which led me into that measure, as they do 
my intention to offer it to my government, on my 
resignation and return, on the terms on which I 
bought it ; being recalled, and the minister sent to re- 
place me not received, such an offer would have been 
absurd. Besides, I was forced to sell it to enable me 
to leave the country ; and even then I lost one half of 



RETROSPECT. — REP UTATION. 205 

the price given for it, as I believe, in consequence of 
my recall and the circumstances under which I left 
it. An important examination of the state of our 
affairs on my arrival in France, the seizure of our 
vessels, jealousy of our views, and distress of our 
citizens there, and the change produced on my ap- 
peal and presentation to the convention, with the of- 
fer of a house, etc., will, I think, enable any candid 
person, aided by the documents referred to, to decide 
whether my motive in making that purchase was a 
private or a public one. That it had the desired ef- 
fect was the opinion of all my fellow-citizens there, 
who had earnestly advised me to it. 

The documents relating to my second mission are 
likewise very interesting. The call made on me by 
Mr. Jefferson, the manner of the call, and circum- 
stances under which I left the country, with the 
losses attending it, are fully shown, as are the conse- 
quences, resulting from the mission. Those were not 
known before, and the latter had been misrepresented 
and were by many misunderstood. They were never 
used to promote my election to any office. 

This memoir, with the remarks and documents, 
form a case between my country and me, and, being 
collected in a pamphlet, will be better understood and 
more easily preserved. If not true in a single in- 
stance, let it be shown. I know that they are true in 
every one, and am not afraid of the severest scrutiny, 
should the proof presented be deemed inadequate in 
any circumstance. The preservation of them may 
tend to give a coloring, or rather character, to some 
of the wants to which they relate. 



206 JAMES MONROE. 

With my conduct in the offices in the city, at the 
most difficult periods, you are well acquainted in the 
outline, having been a large portion of the time in 
Congress, and in confidential communication with me. 
You know that I was called into the Department of 
War on a great emergency, and by that emergency, 
not by any desire of mine. Many circumstances, how- 
ever, occurred while I was in that Department, with 
which I wish to make you acquainted, and especially 
those which relate to the measures taken for the de- 
fence of New Orleans in the late war. Representa- 
tions have been given of my conduct in that instance 
very injurious to me. 

To the gallantry and very meritorious conduct of 
General Jackson there, I have always done, and shall 
do, full justice. I wish, however, to make you fully 
acquainted with the part I have acted towards him 
in that and some other instances, which have since 
occurred. By such a view you will be able to judge 
whether I have acted fairlv towards him, and taken 
responsibility on myself for him, from motives of 
friendship, or acted a different part. The papers, 
which I wish to show you, are original. I do not 
wish you to come here at this time, and am inclined 
to think you had better not. If you see no impro- 
priety in it, I will inclose to you the papers which, 
after perusing them, I wish you to return to me im- 
mediately, and without showing or letting it be known 
to any person existing that you had ever seen them. 

On the question of republication and the subject 
to which it relates, above referred to, I shall be glad 
to receive your opinion when convenient. 



RETROSPECT. — REP UTATION. 207 

In these last years his quiet was disturbed 
by a controversy, already mentioned, as to the 
action of his cabinet in respect to the proceed- 
ings of General Jackson. The irritation ap- 
pears to have begun in 1827. 

His son-in-law, Mr. Gouverneur, referring to 
an article which had appeared in a Tennessee 
paper, and reflected discredit on Monroe's ad- 
ministration, expressed to Monroe great surprise 
that such an article should have been written 
with Jackson's approbation. 

" That injustice might be attempted," he says (May 
24, 1827), " by the heated partisans of the day for 
their own purposes, I can readily conceive, but that 
General Jackson, with whom you have so long pre- 
served the most intimate relations of friendship, and 
whose public character you have so frequently sus- 
tained during the most perilous periods of your ad- 
ministration, should authorize that injustice, I should 
not only be slow to believe but most deeply regret. 
It certainly is at variance with all the feelings I have 
ever entertained of his character, which I thought had 
been fully justified in all the incidents of his life. It 
is undoubtedly desirable that you should collect such 
evidences as are in your possession, and to which you 
may now have access, as relate to the period in ques- 
tion. It is among the most interesting of our history, 
and must be so regarded by posterity. How far it 
may be advisable to use them in any shape at this 
time, I think depends on what may occur hereafter, 



208 JAMES MONROE. 

and the circumstances which may arise to call for it. 
Your position is one of a defensive character, if neces- 
sary, and I do not think requires anything from you 
which may invite attack. When it comes I should 
consider you at full liberty to meet it by all the evi- 
dences of which you may be able to avail yourself." 

His dread of any financial action which 
should endanger the Union is clearly brought 
out in a letter to John C. Calhoun (February 
16, 1830), 1 in reply to one which he had re- 
ceived from his former secretary. 

"Nothing can be more distressing to me than the 
approach or possibility of a crisis, which may, in its 
consequences, endanger our Union. I trust, however, 
that the patriotism, intelligence, and virtue of the 
people, and of those who may fill our public councils at 
the epoch you refer to, will rescue us from such a dan- 
ger. Satisfied I am that nothing can be so calamitous 
to every section of the Union as a dismemberment. 
With such an event our republican system would soon 
go to wreck ; wars would take place between the new 
States as they did between the ancient republics, and 
now do between the powers of Europe ; and we to 
the south, where so large a portion of the population 
consists of slaves, would by domestic conjunctions be 
most apt to fall the victims. 

"From the close of our Revolution we have looked 
to the extinction of the public debt as a period of 
peculiar felicity. There is, I believe, no other gov- 

1 Gouverneur MSS. 



RETROSPECT. — REP UTA TION. 209 

ernment or people in existence who are thus blessed. 
That this epoch should lay the foundation for such a 
calamity would be an event without example. I 
think with you that the interesting questions which 
you state will, in the discussion, excite much feeling, 
and may, in the view which the different sections may 
take of their local interests, put them for a while in 
a marked opposition to each other. Each however 
will, I trust, weigh the subject calmly, and be willing 
to make some concession and even sacrifices to save 
our republican system." 

There are many estimates of Monroe to be 
met with in the memoirs of his contemporaries. 
Washington's early praise has already been 
quoted. Jefferson said of him, " he is a man 
whose soul might be turned wrong side out- 
wards without discovering a blemish to the 
world." Madison used this language : « His 
understanding was very much underrated ; his 
judgment was particularly good ; few men have 
made more of what may be called sacrifices in 
the service of the public." John Quincy Adams 
delivered a eulogy, the last pages of which glow 
with praise u of a mind, anxious and unwearied 
in the pursuit of truth and right, patient of in- 
quiry, patient of contradiction, courteous even 
in the collision of sentiment, sound in its ulti- 
mate judgments, and firm in its final conclu- 
sions." John McLean gave emphasis to the 

14 



210 JAMES MONROE. 

purity of his action in making executive ap- 
pointments : — " personal motives, either as they 
regarded the President himself or the person 
appointed, were lost in higher considerations of 
duty." Webster, in 1825, declared that " the 
administration now closed had been in general 
highly satisfactory to the country. It could not 
be said," he continued, " that that administra- 
tion had either been supported or opposed by 
any party associations, or on any party princi- 
ples." Calhoun, the stern and stately Calhoun, 
is effusive in the terms which he employs when 
speaking of the President in whose cabinet he 
served. One of the most elaborate estimates of 
Monroe's career is that of Benton, which de- 
serves to be quoted. 

"Mr. Monroe had none of the mental qualities 
which dazzle and astonish mankind ; but he had a 
discretion which seldom committed a mistake — an in- 
tegrity that always looked to the public good ; a firm- 
ness of will which carried him resolutely upon his 
object ; a diligence which mastered every subject ; and 
a perseverance that yielded to no obstacle or reverse. 

" He began his patriotic career in the military ser- 
vice at the commencement of the war of the Revolu- 
tion, went into the General Assembly of his native 
State at an early age, and thence, while still young, 
into the Continental Congress. There he showed 
his character, and laid the foundation of his future 



RETROSPECT.— REPUTATION. 211 

political fortunes in his uncompromising opposition to 
the plan of a treaty with Spain, by which the navi- 
gation of the Mississippi was to be given up for 
* twenty-five years in return for commercial privileges. 
It was the qualities of judgment and perseverance 
which he displayed on that occasion which brought 
him those calls to diplomacy in which he was after- 
wards so much employed with three of the then 
greatest European powers, — France, Spain, Great 
Britain. And it was in allusion to this circumstance 
that President Jefferson afterwards, when the risht 
of deposit at New Orleans had been violated by 
Spain, and when a minister was wanted to recover it, 
said, " Monroe is the man ; the defence of the Missis- 
sippi belongs to him." And under this appointment 
he had the felicity to put his name to the treaty which 
secured the Mississippi, its navigation and all the 
territory drained by its western waters, to the United 
States forever. Several times in his life he seemed 
to miscarry and to fall from the top to the bottom of 
the political ladder, but always to reascend as high or 
higher than ever. Recalled by Washington from the 
French mission, to which he had been appointed 
from the Senate of the United States, he returned to 
the starting point of his early career, the General 
Assembly of his State, served as a member from his 
county, was elected Governor, and from that post was 
restored by Jefferson to the French mission, soon to be 
followed by the embassies to Spain and England. 
Becoming estranged from Mr. Madison about the 
time of that gentleman's first election to the presi- 



212 JAMES MONROE. 

dency, and having returned from his missions a little 
mortified that Mr. Jefferson had rejected his British 
treaty without sending it to the Senate, he was again 
at the foot of the political ladder, and apparently out 
of favor with those who were at its top. Nothing 
despairing he went back to the old starting point, 
served again in the Virginia General Assembly, was 
again elected Governor, and from that post was called 
to the cabinet of Mr. Madison, to be his double Sec- 
retary of State and War. He was the effective 
power in the declaration of wai* against Great Brit- 
ain. His residence abroad had shown him that un- 
avenged British wrongs were lowering our character 
with Europe, and that war with the " mistress of the 
seas " was as necessary to our respectability in the 
eyes of the world, as to the security of our citizens 
and commerce upon the ocean. He brought up Mr. 
Madison to the war point. He drew the war report 
which the Committee on Foreign Relations presented 
to the House, that report which the absence of Mr. 
Peter B. Porter, the chairman, and the hesitancy of 
Mr. Grundy, the second on the committee, threw 
into the hands of Mr. Calhoun, the third on the list 
and the youngest of the committee, and the presenta- 
tion of which immediately gave him a national repu- 
tation. Prime mover of the war, he was also one of 
its most efficient supporters, taking upon himself, 
when adversity pressed, the actual duties of war min- 
ister, financier, and foreign secretary at the same 
time. He was an enemy to all extravagance, to all 
intrigue, to all indirection in the conduct of business. 



RETROSPECT.— REPUTATION. 213 

Mr. Jefferson's comprehensive and compendious eulo- 
gium upon him, as brief as true, was the faithful de- 
scription of the man — " honest and brave." He wa3 
an enemy to nepotism, and no consideration or en- 
treaty, no need of the support which an office would 
give, or intercession from friends, could ever induce 
him to appoint a relative to any place under the gov- 
ernment. He had opposed the adoption of the Con- 
stitution until amendments were obtained ; but these 
had, he became one of its firmest supporters, and 
labored faithfully, anxiously, and devotedly to ad- 
minister it in its purity." 

On reviewing all that I have been able to 
read in print and in manuscript, and all I have 
been able to gather from the writings of others, 
the conclusion is forced on me that Monroe is 
not adequately appreciated by his countrymen. 
He has certainly been insufficiently known, be- 
cause no collection has been made of his numer- 
ous memoirs, letters, dispatches, and messages. 
He has suffered also by comparison with four or 
five illustrious men, his seniors in years and his 
superiors in genius, who were chiefly instru- 
mental in establishing this government on its 
firm basis. He was not the equal of Washington 
in prudence, of Marshall in wisdom, of Hamil- 
ton in constructive power, of Jefferson in ge- 
nius for politics, of Madison in persistent abil- 
ity to think out an idea and to persuade others 



214 JAMES MONROE. 

of its importance. He was in early life enthu- 
siastic to rashness, he was a devoted adherent 
of partisan views, he was sometimes despon- 
dent and sometimes irascible; but as he grew 
older his judgment was disciplined, his self- 
control became secure, his patriotism over- 
balanced the considerations of party. Political 
opponents rarely assailed the purity of his mo- 
tives or the honesty of his conduct. He was 
a very good civil service reformer, firmly set 
against appointments to office for any unworthy 
reason. He was never exposed to the charge 
of nepotism, and in the choice of officers to be 
appointed he carefully avoided the recognition 
of family and friendly ties. His hands were 
never stained with pelf. He grew poor in the 
public service, because he neglected his private 
affairs and incurred large outlays in the dis- 
charge of official duties under circumstances 
which demanded liberal expenditure. He was 
extremely reticent as to his religious senti- 
ments, at least in all that he wrote. Allusions 
to his belief are rarely if ever to be met with in 
his correspondence. He was a faithful hus- 
band, father, master, neighbor, friend. He was 
industrious, serious, temperate, domestic, affec- 
tionate. He carried with him to the end of his 
life the good- will and respect both of his seniors 
and juniors. Many of those who worked with 



RETROSPECT. — REP UTA TION. 215 

him, besides those already quoted, have left on 
record their appreciation of his abilities and 
their esteem for his character. 

His numerous state papers are not remark- 
able in style or in thought, but his views were 
generally sound, the position which he took 
in later life on public questions was approved 
by the public voice, and his administration is 
known as the " era of good feeling." His at- 
tention dc^s not seem to have been called in 
any special manner to the significance of slavery 
as an element of political discord, or as an evil 
in itself. If he foresaw, he did not foretell the 
great conflict. He does not seem expert in the 
principles of national finance, though his views 
are often expressed on such matters. 

The one idea which he represents consist- 
ently from the beginning to the end of his 
career is this, that America is for Americans. 
He resists the British sovereignty in his early 
youth ; he insists on the importance of free 
navigation in the Mississippi ; he negotiates the 
purchase of Louisiana and Florida ; he gives 
a vigorous impulse to the prosecution of the 
second war with Great Britain, when neutral 
rights were endangered ; finally he announces 
the " Monroe doctrine." 

It is clear that he was under great obliga- 
tions to Jefferson. The aid and counsel of this 



216 JAMES MONROE. 

sagacious man are apparent from the time 
when Monroe began the study of law, in ad- 
verse and in prosperous times, in public and in 
private matters, throughout their long lives. 
Madison's friendship was also a powerful sup- 
port. But both these men could not have sus- 
tained Monroe through his varied career, in 
circumstances which required popular approba- 
tion, if he had not possessed some very uncom- 
mon qualities. As a youth he must have been 
bright and attractive. In early manhood he 
was devoted to his party beyond the require- 
ments of party, so that he nearly involved the 
country in war. As he grew older he was less 
of a partisan. He retained an accurate remem- 
brance of the men and measures with which he 
had been associated, and he acquired experience 
in almost every variety of public station, the 
judiciary excepted, until he reached the very 
hishest office in the land. He was trained for 
the presidency in the school of affairs and not 
in a ring. An ideal preparation for the duties 
of that high station would hardly involve any 
kind of discipline to which the business of life 
had not subjected him. He made enemies ; 
the Federalists, South as well as North, disliked 
him and undervalued him ; but notwithstand- 
ing their hostile criticism he sustained himself 
so well that but one electoral vote was given 



RETROSPECT. -REPUTATION. 217 

against his reelection, and it is said that this 
was cast by an elector who did not wish to see 
a second President chosen with the same unan- 
imity which had honored Washington. 

Certainly a career like this will never be for- 
gotten. As time goes on some careful hand will 
collect the scattered memoirs of Monroe, and 
his work as a legislator, an envoy, a cabinet 
minister, and a President, will be more accu- 
rately estimated. It will always reveal the mind 
and heart of a patriot, in new and trying situa- 
uations, true to the idea of American indepen- 
dence from European interference. 

Monroe died in New York, July 4, 1831, and 
was buried there with appropriate honors. Years 
afterward Virginians desired that his dust 
should mingle with the soil of his native State. 
His body was carried to Richmond, under the 
escort of a favorite regiment of New York, and 
re-interred in the public cemetery just one hun- 
dred years after his eyes first saw the light. 



APPENDIX. 



GENEALOGY. 

I have not been successful in tracing the pedigree 
of James Monroe. Mr. R. C. Brock, of the Virginia 
Historical Society, has kindly searched the Virginia 
archives, and finds that successive grants of land 
were made to Andrew Monroe from 1650 to 1662, 
and to John Monroe from 1695 to 1719. He has 
also come upon an old statement that Andrew Mon- 
roe came to this country in 1660, after the defeat of 
the Royal army, in which he had the rank of major, 
and settled in Westmoreland County, Virginia. With 
this citation it is curious to compare a recent para- 
graph, in respect to the Monroes of Eastern Massa- 
chusetts, in F. B. Sanborn's Life of Thoreau : — 

" The Monroes of Lexington and Concord are 
descended from a Scotch soldier of Charles II. 's army, 
captured by Cromwell at the battle of Worcester in 
1651, and allowed to go into exile in America. His 
powerful kinsman, General George Monro, who com- 
manded for Charles at the battle of Worcester, was, 



APPENDIX. 219 

at the Restoration, made commander-in-chief for 
Scotland." 1 

Mr. Brock suggests that the family of Jones, to 
which the mother of James Monroe belongs, was the 
same with that of Adjutant- General Robert Jones, 
Commodore Thomas Catesby Jones, General Walker 
Jones, and other distinguished Americans. 

The private residence of Monroe during the latter 
part of his life was at Oak Hill, near Aldie, Loudoun 
County, Virginia, on a turnpike running south from 
Leesburg to Aldie, about nine miles from the former 
and three from the latter place. 

Major R. W. N. Noland has been so kind as to 
prepare (at the suggestion of Professor J. M. Garnett 
of the University of Virginia) a sketch of Oak Hill, 
which will here be given : — 

The Oak Hill house was planned by Mr. Monroe, but the 
building superintended by Mr. William Benton, an English- 
man, who occupied the mixed relation to Mr. Monroe of stew- 
ard, counsellor, and friend. The house is built of brick in a 
most substantial manner, and handsomely finished ; it is, per- 
haps, about 90 x 50 feet, three stories (including basement), 
and has a wide portico, fronting south, with massive Doric 
columns thirty feet high, and is surrounded by a grove of 
magnificent oaks covering several acres. While the location 
is not as commanding as many others in that section, being in 
lower Loudoun where the rolling character of the Piedmont 
region begins to loose itself in the flat lands of tide water, the 
house in two directions commands an attractive and some- 
what extensive view, but on the other sides it is hemmed in 
by mountains, for the local names of which, " Bull Run " and 

1 Compare Savage, New England Genealogical Dictionary, 
iii. 256, 257. 



220 APPENDIX. 

" Nigger Mountain," it is to be hoped the late President is in 
no wise responsible, and, indeed, the same may be said of the 
river or creek which breaks through these ranges within a 
mile or two of Oak Hill. Tom Moore, in a poetic letter as 
brilliant as it is ill-natured, satirizing Washington city, writes, 
" And what was Goose Creek once is Tiber now ; " but the 
fact is that no such stream is found in the neighborhood of 
the national capital. The little stream that washes the con- 
fines of the Oak Hill estate once bore the Indian name Gohon- 
garestmv (the River of Swans), and is now called Goose Creek. 
The following anecdote connected with Oak Hill is, perhaps, 
worthy of preservation. On the occasion of Lafayette's visit 
to Loudoun, a large number of distinguished guests were en- 
tertained at Oak Hill. It was at the dinner in Leesburg, 
given to Lafayette, that Mr. Adams drank the celebrated 
toast to the "Patriots of the Revolution — like the Sibylline 
leaves, the fewer they become, the more precious they are." In 
riding back to Oak Hill, Mr. Adams, Major William Noland, 
and Mr. Hay were thrown together, when the last-named gen- 
tleman, with an apology for the seeming impertinence, asked 
Mr. Adams where he conceived the beautiful sentiment he had 
that day drunk. Mr. Adams said that the toast was inspired 
that morning by a sight of the picture of the Sibyl that hung 
in the Oak Hill hall. " How strange ! " said Mr. Hay, "I have 
been looking at that picture for years, and that thought never 
occurred to me." 

There are several quite good pictures of the Oak Hill house 
extant — one on Taylor's map of Loudoun County, and others 
in the histories of Virginia (for example, in Howe's "Histor- 
ical Collections of Virginia," p. 356). 



APPENDIX. 221 



II. 

Washington's notes upon the appendix to 
monroe's " view of the conduct of the 
executive," now first printed. 

[From the copy by Mr. Sparks now owned by the Library 
of Cornell University. The figures indicate the pages in the 
appendix to Monroe's " View," from which catch-words are 
taken, introducing the notes written by Washington on his 
copy.] 

Page 119 — "jealousy and distrust." 
Principally because he asserted our rights and 
claimed redress. 

On what ground the suspicion, when it was a noto- 
rious fact that (we) were upon the worst terms short 
of open war with G. Britain ? 

His communications with the French Govt, con- 
tradict this, and accounts [sic] satisfactorily for the 
delay of the reception, as may be seen by reference 
thereto. 

Page 120 — " that I should pursue ? " 

As nothing but justice, and the fulfilment of a con- 
tract was asked, it dictated firmness conducted with 
temperence [st'c] in the pursuit of it. 

Page 120 — " were closed against me." 
This appears nowhere but in his own conjectures 
and a/fer-assertions, for from his own account at the 



222 APPENDIX. 

time the delay of his reception was satisfactorily ex- 
plained, and had been the cause of another waiting of 
six weeks. 1 See his letter of the 25 of Aug., p. 16. 

Page 120 — "place a greater confidence?" 

By whom were they advised ? and what evidences 
are alluded to ? 

Page 122 — " and then defy us" 

Was a good understanding to be interrupted be- 
cause we were endeavoring to live in peace with all 
the world ? and were onlv asking from France what 
we were entitled to by treaty ? 

Page 122 — " in favour of that administration : " 
It is not understood what is here meant by conces- 
sion. None was asked, or any [sic] thought of be- 
ing made. 

Page 122 — " decisively on the decline" 

It will not be denied, it is presumed [sic], that 
there had been and might again be great vicissitudes 
in their affairs, bothe [sic] externally and inter- 
nally. Prudence and policy therefore required, that 
the Govt, of the U. S. should move with great cir- 
cumspection. 

Page 123 — " the point in question" 
A very singular mode truly to obtain it, but look 

1 This " waiting of six weeks " refers to the delay in receiv- 
ing the minister of Geneva. — Editor. 



APPENDIX. 223 

to letter of Nov. 7 th , 1794, pp. 58, 59, and judge 
whether it would not have been accomplished sooner 
if he had desired it ; — and what can he mean by not 
conceding, when in explicit terms he has declared 
that the point, if upon consideration they desired it, 
would have been given up with pleasure ! 

Page 123 — " upon the slightest intimation" 

That is to say, if we would not press them to do 
us justice, but have yielded to their violations, they 
would [sic] aided us in every measure, which would 
have cost them nothing. 

Page 124 — "from the western posts " 

By what means were the British to be expelled 
from the Western posts, without first conquering 
Canada, or passing thro' the territory of the U. S., 
and would not the latter, by the law of nations, have 
been a cause of war ? The truth is Mr. Manroe [sic] 
was cajoled, flattered, and made to believe strange 
things. In return he did, or was disposed to do, 
whatever was pleasing to that nation ; reluctantly 
urging the rights of his own. 

Page 140 — "in the second the whole" 

This is a mistake, — no such promise to be found 
in the 2 d letter. See p. 105, Nov. 25 th . 

Page 140 — " to me on the subject ? " 

The intention was to enable him on the veracity 
and authority of the negotiator of the Treaty to as- 



224 APPENDIX. 

sert, that there was nothing contained in it repug- 
nant to our engagement with France, and that was 
all that they or he had a right to expect. 

Page 147 — "power alone to make it, etc." 

And this ought to have satisfied the French Govt. 
It was as much as that Govt, would have done for 
us or any other nation. 

Page 118 — " my secretary, Mr. Gauvain " 

Here is a striking instance of his folly. This 
secretary of his was a foreigner — it is believed a 
Frenchman — introduced no doubt to his confidence 
and papers for the sole purpose of communicating to 
the Directory the secrets of his office. 

Page 160 — " with you in June next" 

The sufferings of our citizens are always a sec- 
ondary consideration when put in competition with 
the embarrassments of the French. 

Page 161 — " reasons above suggested." 

Hence is a disregard shown to repeated orders of 
his government to press this matter 

Page 207 — " me to do it here" 

What inference is to be drawn from this declara- 
tion ? What light is it in Philadelphia, that is to 
discover the sense of the French Govt, in Paris, 
before it was divulged there ? — except the conduct 
of the French party by whom the wheels were to be 
moved ? 



APPENDIX. 225 

Page 210 — " of this government" 
If he does not mean himself here, it is not difficult 
to guess who the other character is marked out by 
this description. 

Page 210 — "of what kind must it be V* 

War was the suggestion, and is here repeated. 
This has no horrors when waged in favor of France, 
but dreadful even in thought when it is against her. 

Page 297 — " decide in his case." 

Mr. Fenwick was accused of covering by the 
American flag French money under false invoices, 
but Mr. M. could readily excuse this breach of faith 
in his office. 

Page 313 — "furnished lose its force." 

England before the late treaty with the U. S.,and 
France were different in their commercial relations 
with America. 

Page 314 — " than in precise terms ; " 

For the best reason imaginable ; because none 
could be urged that had any weight in them. 

Page 321 — " the United States have taken" 

Only in cases where the captors have contravened 
the treaty — acting contrary to the laws of nations 
— or our own municipal laws. 
15 



226 APPENDIX. 

Page 322 — "prizes into those ports" 

A single instance only of a prize being brought in 
is recollected, and against it a strong remonstrance 
was made ; — without prizes, ships of war are not re- 
strained by the Treaty. 

Page 322 — " executing their judgments" 

No interruption has been given to this. To carry 
their own judgments into effect has constituted the 
difficulty, — and in its nature it is nearly impossible 
to do it. 

Page 322 — " certified by the consuls." 

This is the French construction of the Act. The 
Judiciary of the U. S. interpret it otherwise ; over 
whom the Executive have [_sic~\ no control. 

Page 322 — " safeguard of their flag" 
This arrestation was for an offence committed 
against the law of nations and those of the U. S. 
and has been explained over and over again. See 
the Sec ty of State's Letter, 13 th of June, p. 364. 

Page 323 — " merited an example" 

What more could the U. S. do than was done ? 
See the Sec ty of State's Letter, Sept. 14 th , 1795, p. 
292. 

Page 323 — " least contested, of neutrality." 
These are assertions upon false premises. Strange 



APPENDIX. 227 

indeed would it be if the U. S. could not make a 
treaty without the consent of the French Govt, when 
that treaty infracted no prior engagements, but ex- 
pressly recognizes and confirms them. 

Page 323 — " the principles of neutrality ? " 
They have given nothing, but left those principles 
precisely upon the ground they stood [sic] before 
the Treaty ; with some explanations favorable to the 
U. S. and not injurious to France. They have made 
nothing contraband, that was not contraband before ; 
— nor was it in their power to obtain from G. B. 
a change, which the Armed Neutrality, (as it was 
called) could not when combined accomplish. 

Page 345 — " and without delay" 
How strangely inconsistent are his accounts ! 

Page 356 — " most strict reciprocity." 
From hence it follows, that if A makes a contract 
with B, and C will not make a similar contract with 
him, B will not be bound by his contract, although 
the cases are unconnected with eachother [sic]. 

Page 359 — " course of the present war." 
All this he ought to have done, and was instructed 
to do in the beginning ; and had it been urged with 
firmness and temperance, might have prevented the 
evils which have taken place since. 

Page 359 — " my duty would permit ; " 
And a great deal more than his duty permitted. 



228 APPENDIX. 

Page 371 — " the merit of this delay ; " 

By implication he has done this in a variety of 
instances. 

Page 371 — "was the true cause of it." 

That is, by not pressing the execution of the 
Treaty ; and for compensation to our suffering citi- 
zens. This no doubt was accommodating and pleas- 
ing one party at the expense of the other. 

Page 374 — " be passed by unnoticed!' 

Did France expect, that the U. S. could compel G. 
B. to relinquish this right under the law of nations, 
while \_sic\ the other maritime powers of Europe (as 
has been observed before), when combined for the 
purpose were unable to effect \_sic\. Why then call 
it an abandonment ? 

Page 377 — " what they did avoiv." 

This is all external and a flimsy covering of their 
designs. Why else send their emissaries through that 
country to inculcate different principles among the 
inhabitants, a fact that could be substantiated. 

Page 390 — " nations had sworn to." 

Yes, Citizen, and every one else who can read are 
\_sic~] acquainted with \_sic] facts ; and your violations 
of our rights under the Treaty prove (?) it also. 



APPENDIX. 229 

Page 391 — " be made through you." 

The treatment of our minister, Gen 1 Pinckney, is 
a pretty evidence of this ; — The thot' [sic] of parting 
with Mr. Monroe was insupportable by them. 

III. 

synopsis of monroe's presidential messages. 1 

President Monroe's inaugural addresses and 
annual messages are of greater length than those of 
any of his predecessors. His fifteen special mes- 
sages are almost all brief ; one, however, that of May 

4, 1822, on internal improvements, is of extraordi- 
nary length. 

In his first inaugural address, delivered on March 

5, 1817, he dwells upon the happy condition into 
which the country had been brought by the excel- 
lence of its political institutions and the bounty of 
Nature. Protection of its liberty and prosperity 
against dangers from within could be secured only 
by maintaining the excellence of the national char- 
acter. To secure it against dangers from without, 
the coast and frontier defences, the army, the navy, 
but especially the militia, should be maintained in a 
state of efficiency. Attention is drawn to the advan- 
tages of developing the resources of the country and 

1 The following summary of the speeches and messages of 
James Monroe, printed in the Statesman's Manual, has been 
prepared for insertion here by J. F. Jameson, Ph. D., of the 
Johns Hopkins University. 



230 APPENDIX. 

drawing the various parts of the Union more closely 
together by the construction of roads and canals, to 
the extent sanctioned by the Constitution ; of increas- 
ing the independence and strength of the industrial 
system of the country by the care of the government; 
of paying the national debt at an early period ; and, 
in general, of making those improvements for which 
peace gives the best opportunity. He promises that 
the new administration will do all in its power to 
secure efficiency in all departments of the public ser- 
vice, to maintain peace with other nations, and to 
promote the increased harmony then pervading the 
Union. 

In the first annual message of President Monroe, 
dated December 2, 1817 (which opens with con- 
gratulations on the progress of the national defences 
and the increase of harmony), he speaks of the diplo- 
matic relations with England, and with Spain and 
her revolted colonies, the national revenue and the 
rapid extinguishment of the debt, recent purchases of 
lands from the Indians, our relations with them, the 
method of sale of public lands, the constitutional- 
ity of improvements in inter-communication executed 
at national expense, American manufactures, public 
buildings at the federal capital, pensions for soldiers 
of the Revolution, and the repeal of the internal 
taxes. Under the first head he reports the comple- 
tion of arrangements for reducing naval forces on 
Lake Erie, the progress of various minor negotia- 
tions pursuant to the provisions of the treaty of 
Ghent, and the failure of our proposals for the open- 



APPENDIX. 231 

ing of the ports in the West Indies and other British 
colonies to American vessels ; how this shall be met 
he leaves to Congress. He complains of violations 
of our neutrality by both Spain and her colonies, but 
expresses the belief that the occupation and hostile 
use of portions of territory claimed by us, at Amelia 
Island and Galveston, were not authorized by the lat- 
ter, and defends the suppression of these resorts. He 
recommends provision for the better civilization of 
the Indians upon the Western frontier, whose lands 
have recently been bought, and such regulation of 
the sale of the tracts thus opened to immigrants as 
shall most benefit the general government and the 
settlers. Concerning the right to make internal im- 
provements he says, " Disregarding early impres- 
sions, I have bestowed on the subject all the delib- 
eration which its great importance and a just sense 
of my duty required, and the result is a settled con- 
viction in my mind that Congress do not possess the 
right." But he suggests a constitutional amendment 
giving the right to do this and to institute seminaries 
of learning. He recommends the repeal of the inter- 
nal taxes, believing them no longer necessary. 

A special message of January 13, 1818, informs 
Congress that the settlement at Amelia Island, and 
probably that at Galveston, has been broken up. The 
President considers this justified by their character, 
and declares that nothing has been or will be done to 
injure Spain. 

The second annual message, dated November 17, 
1818, opens with a statement by the President of the 



232 APPENDIX. 

arrangements which had been made with reference to 
a continuation of the convention with Great Britain. 
He discusses the troubles in Florida, mentions the 
progress of the South American revolutions and the 
mediation proposed by the allied powers, notices the 
excellent condition of the national finances, and rec- 
ommends further protection. He dwells with satis- 
faction upon the progress of the system of defences, 
and upon the admission of a new State, Illinois, be- 
lieving that the rise of new States within our borders 
will produce the greatest benefits, both material and 
political. He recommends such provision for the In- 
dians as will, if possible, prevent their extinction, ac- 
custom them to agriculture, and promote civilization 
among them ; and the establishment of a government 
for the District of Columbia more agreeable to princi- 
ples of self-government. His statements as to events 
in Florida ought, perhaps, to be represented more 
fully. He draws a strong picture of the impotence 
of the Spanish authorities, of the lawless character 
of the adventurers who seized upon various positions 
in the province, and of the dangers to which the citi- 
zens of the United States were subjected, at sea by 
the depredations of the adventurers and on land by 
the attacks of the Indians incited by them. As Spain 
could not govern the region, and would not transfer 
it, the only course open to our government, says 
the President, was to suppress the establishment at 
Amelia Island, and to carry the pursuit of the In- 
dians so far as to prevent further disturbance from 
them, or from their inciters, English or Spanish ; but 



APPENDIX. 233 

care has been taken to show due respect to the gov- 
ernment of Spain. 

The negotiations of our government with that of 
Spain form the chief subject of the annual message 
of December 7, 1819. A treaty by which the Span- 
ish government ceded to the United States the prov- 
ince of Florida, while the United States renounced 
its claims to the part of Louisiana west of the River 
Sabine (known as Texas), and its claims to compen- 
sation for injuries sustained by its citizens^from Span- 
ish cruisers some twenty years before, had, early in 
this year, been concluded at Washington and rati- 
fied by the government there. It was then sent to 
Madrid, but, unexpectedly, the Spanish government 
delayed ratifying it, alleging not only that attempts 
had been made by United States citizens against 
Texas, but that our Minister at Madrid had, as in- 
structed, when presenting the treaty for ratification, 
accompanied it by a declaration explaining the mean- 
ing given to one of its articles. In the present mes- 
sage the President comments severely upon the con- 
duct of the Spanish court, denies its first charge 
absolutely, and explains that the second refers to a 
correction enabling the treaty to cover, as both gov- 
'ernments agreed that it should cover, all cases of 
land grants of a specified sort. He declares that the 
conduct of Spain is perfectly unjustifiable, and is 
so regarded by European governments, and that it 
would be right for our government to carry out the 
treaty fairly, alone; but suggests forbearance until 
the expected envoy shall have arrived from Madrid. 



234 APPENDIX. 

Other matters, new and old, which the President dis- 
cusses in this message are, the preservation of our 
neutrality in the South American conflict, the Cana- 
dian and West Indian commerce, the treasury, the 
contraction of bank circulation and depression of in- 
dustry, the coast survey, the increase of the navy, 
and the maintenance of the Mediterranean squadron. 

A special message, sent a few days later, Decem- 
ber 17, describes, and submits to amendment by Con- 
gress, the arrangements which the Executive had 
made for the transference to Africa of negroes cap- 
tured in accordance with the act for the abolition of 
the slave-trade. 

In the last annual message of his first term, that 
of November 14, 1820, President Monroe takes oc- 
casion to review the present situation of the Union. 
He expresses the greatest satisfaction at our wonder- 
ful prosperity. While certain interests have suffered 
depression because of the long European wars and 
the consequent industrial derangements, he regards 
these as mild and instructive admonitions, and as ac- 
cumulating " multiplied proofs of the great perfec- 
tion of our most excellent system of government, the 
powerful instrument in the hands of an All-merciful 
Creator, in securing to us these blessings." He re- 
ports that the treaty with Spain is not yet ratified, 
while Florida is constantly made a basis of smug- 
gling operations ; that the restrictions on commerce 
to and from the West Indies continue ; and that ne- 
gotiations have been commenced for a commercial 
treaty with France, and recommends legislation mak- 



APPENDIX. 235 

ing more just the recent tonnage duties on French 
vessels. South American affairs are, as usual, men- 
tioned. The rapid reduction of the public debt is 
noted, as showing the extent of the national re- 
sources. The President then recommends legisla- 
tion to relieve those who have bought public lands 
on credit in days of higher prices. He reports prog- 
ress in the preparation of the extensive system of 
fortifications, and sets forth the great advantages to 
be expected from them, and, more briefly, those de- 
rivable from the frontier posts among the Indians and 
the naval squadrous abroad. 

In his second inaugural address, delivered March 
4, 1821, President Monroe first expresses his grati- 
tude for the confidence of his fellow-citizens, and his 
satisfaction at the general accord with which it has 
been expressed. " Having no pretensions," says he, 
" to the high and commanding claims of my prede- 
cessors, whose names are so much more conspicu- 
ously identified with our Revolution, and who con- 
tributed so preeminently to promote its success, I 
consider myself rather as the instrument than the 
cause of the union which has prevailed in the late 
election. ... It is obvious that other powerful 
causes, indicating the great strength and stability of 
our Union, have essentially contributed to draw you 
together." He then reviews the acts of the govern- 
ment in the previous term, and, first of all, the prog- 
ress made in fortification. Upon matters of foreign 
policy, the chief opinions expressed by him are, that 



236 APPENDIX. 

our neutrality in the South American conflict should 
by all means be preserved, that the troubles in Florida 
could not be ended in any other way than that pur- 
sued, that the treaty with Spain and the acquisition 
of the Peninsula will prove highly advantageous to 
our country, and that our naval squadrons in foreign 
waters have been most efficient in suppressing the 
slave-trade and piracy. He recommends, in view of 
the public exigencies, the restoration of the internal 
duties and excises, the removal of which he had, 
under other circumstances, suggested in a former 
message. He further recommends that the Indians, 
instead of being treated as independent nations, be 
settled upon lands granted to them as individuals, 
and helped to improvement in agriculture and civil- 
ization ; and that measures be taken to make us al- 
ways capable of self-defence. He then compares the 
excellence and success of our government with the 
defects and failures of those of the ancient republics, 
and expresses the belief " that our system will soon 
attain the highest degree of perfection of which hu- 
man institutions are capable." The address closes 
with remarks upon the increase of the area and pop- 
ulation of the United States, and with acknowledg- 
ments of the ability and uprightness of the Presi- 
dent's cabinet advisers. 

The principal subjects of the fifth annual message, 
that of December 3, 1821, are, commercial relations 
arising under the act of March 3, 1815, and the trans- 
ference and government of Florida. Beside these, 
the President briefly discusses Portuguese and South 



APPENDIX. 237 

American affairs, the treasury and revenue, incidental 
protection to manufactures, internal taxation, now no 
longer deemed necessary, surveys, fortifications, and 
war vessels, and the efficiency of the Mediterranean 
squadron in restraining the Barbary powers, and of 
the naval forces elsewhere in suppressing piracy and 
the slave-trade. The act of March 3, 1815, had pro- 
vided that the manufactures and productions of any 
foreign nation, imported into the United States in 
vessels of the same nation, should, whenever the Ex- 
ecutive should be satisfied that the nation in question 
Bad conferred the same privilege upon our commerce, 
be exempted from the payment of any further duties 
than would be paid upon the same merchandise if 
imported in our ships. It was thought, says the 
President, that the proposal was liberal, and that 
any power acceding to it would also throw open the 
trade of its colonies to foreign vessels on a similar 
basis. But England, while accepting it for her Euro- 
pean dominions, has declined it for the West Indies, 
and France has declined it altogether ; direct trade 
with the West Indies and France in our vessels and 
theirs has therefore ceased. He expresses regret at 
the extreme interpretation put by the French gov- 
ernment upon the most-favored-nation clause in the 
treaty of 1803, and defends the seizure of the Apollo, 
on the nominally Spanish side of the St. Mary's 
River, on the ground that the sole purpose of its 
presence there was to elude our revenue laws. He 
reports the extension of the reciprocity system of the 
act of 1815 by treaties with several powers. In 



238 APPENDIX. 

announcing the transfer of Florida, he comments se- 
verely upon the refusal of the Spanish officials in 
charge to transfer the land records of the province. 
He describes the measures taken for the provisional 
government of the district, regrets the dissensions 
which have occurred in it, recommends the prompt 
establishment of a territorial government for it, and 
reports progress in the satisfaction of the claims of 
our citizens against Spain. 

During this same session several special messages 
were sent to Congress. The first, on February 25, 
1822, suggests a larger appropriation for a treaty with 
the Cherokees ; the second, dated March 8, 1822, 
relates to the contest between Spain and her colonies. 
The opinion is expressed that recent events have 
made it manifest that the colonies not only possess 
independence, but are certain to retain it, and that 
the recognition of their independence by us should 
now be made, that it cannot be regarded by Spain as 
improper, and may help to shorten the struggle. A 
longer special message of March 26 refers to the for- 
tifications at Dauphin Island at the mouth of Mobile 
Bay, and, incidentally, to the subject of fortifications in 
general. The President demonstrates the necessity 
of extensive fortifications at that point for the protec- 
tion not only of Mobile but of New Orleans, and 
thus of the whole valley of the Mississippi. He ends 
the message with a strong vindication of the policy of 
fortification adopted by Congress soon after the late 
destructive war with England ; he shows that the 
amount of loss which, in any similar emergency, 



APPENDIX. 239 

would be thus prevented, far exceeds the cost of the 
works themselves, and that the latter has been, and 
is being, defrayed without sensibly increasing the 
burdens resting upon the people. 

By far the most important of the special messages 
of President Monroe are those vetoing the Cumber- 
land Road Bill, and giving the reasons therefor. 
In the former he briefly declares his opinion that the 
power to pass such a law implies the power to adopt 
and execute a complete system of internal improve- 
ment, and that such a power is neither specifically 
nor incidentally granted by the Constitution. The 
session being too advanced to permit him to include 
his reasons in this message, he instead transmits to 
Congress an exposition of his views on the subject 
previously committed to paper, and having a form 
somewhat different from that which would have been 
adopted in a message. The paper so transmitted 
forms a special message of great length, setting forth 
fully the President's views on internal improve- 
ments. 

This message may be divided into four parts. In 
the first he discusses the general subject of the divi- 
sion of powers between the general government and 
the State governments ; in the second he describes the 
powers which the general government would have to 
exercise if it possessed the right claimed for it ; in the 
third he controverts in detail the arguments of those 
who seek to derive the power in question from va- 
rious powers conceded to Congress by the Constitu- 



240 APPENDIX. 

tion ; in the fourth he declares the advantages of the 
possession of such a power by them, if carefully con- 
fined to great works of national importance, and rec- 
ommends an amendment to secure that end. 

The subjects of the first portion are, the origin of 
the State governments and their endowments when 
first formed ; the origin of the national government 
and the powers vested in it, and the powers which 
are admitted to have remained to the State govern- 
ments. The views disclosed in it are substantially the 
following: When the power of the crown was ab- 
rogated, the authority which had been held by it 
vested exclusively in the people of the colonies. 
These appointed a Congress. They also formed 
State governments, to which all necessary powers of 
government, not vested in Congress, were imparted, 
the sovereignty still residing in the people. Mean- 
while the powers of Congress, though vast, were un- 
defined. Hence the plan of confederation ratified in 
1781. Now it may fairly be presumed that where 
grants of certain powers were transferred in the 
same terms from this to the Constitution of 1788, 
they should be construed in the same sense in the 
latter which they bore in the former. Its principal 
provisions are therefore here inserted. Its incompe- 
tence being demonstrated, the new Constitution was 
formed and ratified, the State governments them- 
selves taking the lead in this forward movement. A 
compact was thus formed, which cannot be altered 
except by those who formed it, and in the mode in it 
described. Thus there were two separate and inde- 



APPENDIX. 241 

pendent governments established over the Union, one 
for local purposes over each State, by the people of 
the State ; the other for national purposes over all the 
States, by the people of the United States. Both 
governments have a common origin or sovereign, the 
people, whose whole power, on the representative prin- 
ciple, is divided between them. As a result of this 
survey, two important facts are disclosed ; the first is, 
that the power or sovereignty passed from the crown 
directly to the people ; the second, that it passed to 
the people of each colony, and not to the people of 
all the colonies in the aggregate. Had it been other- 
wise, had the people not had equal rights and a com- 
mon interest in the struggle, or had the sovereignty 
passed to the aggregate, the Revolution might not have 
succeeded. But, clearly, power passed to the people of 
each colony, for the chartered rights whose violation 
produced the Revolution were those secured by the 
charters of each colony ; and the composition and 
conduct of Congress confirm this position. The 
powers granted by the Constitution to the govern- 
ment of the United States are then detailed. On 
the powers remaining to the governments of the 
States, it is observed, that the territory contemplated 
by the Constitution is the territory of the several 
States, and under their jurisdiction ; the people, the 
people of the several States ; the militia, the holding 
of property, the administration of justice, the criminal 
code, are all under the control of the State govern- 
ments, except in cases otherwise specially provided 
for. The right of the general government is, in 
16 



242 APPENDIX. 

short, a power to perform certain specified acts and 
those only. 

The second division of the message discusses briefly 
the nature and extent of the powers requisite to the 
general government in order to adopt and execute a 
system of internal improvement, a necessary prelim- 
inary to the decision whether it has this power. First, 
says the President, it must be able to buy the land 
even in spite of the owner's refusal to sell ; secondly, 
it must be able to punish those who injure the road 
or canal, by having not only jurisdiction over it but 
power to bring them to justice, wherever caught ; 
thirdly, it must be able to establish tolls and provide 
for their collection and for the punishment of those 
infringing such regulations. 

If, he continues, the United States possess this 
power, it must, since it has not been specifically 
granted, be derived from one of the following sources : 
First, the right to establish post-offices and post- 
roads ; second, to declare war ; third, to regulate com- 
merce among the several States ; fourth, from the 
power to pay the debts and provide for the common 
defence and general welfare of the United States ; 
fifth, from the power to make all laws necessary and 
proper for carrying into execution all the powers 
vested by the Constitution in the government of the 
United States, or in any department or officer thereof ; 
sixth, from the power to dispose of, and make all 
needful rules and regulations respecting, the territory 
and other property of the United States. From some 
one or other of these the advocates of the power derive 



APPENDIX. 243 

it, and all these the President proceeds, in this third 
part of his message, to consider in detail. 

As to the first grant, it is contended that it cannot, 
in the ordinary sense of the word "establish," be 
held to mean anything more than the use of exist- 
ing roads by the mail-carrier in passing over them as 
others do ; that the phrase must be held to mean just 
what it did in the Articles of Confederation ; that, its 
object being the carriage of the mails, only what is 
absolutely necessary to that object is conceded ; and 
that the proposed interpretation would give Congress 
the same jurisdiction over all the roads already ex- 
isting in every State. 

The claim under the second grant mentioned would 
extend to canals as well as to roads. If internal im- 
provements are to be carried to the full extent to 
which they may be useful for military purposes, 
the power must extend to all roads in the Union. 
Further, the Constitution makes a special grant of 
several rights, like that of raising an army, which 
might much more certainly be derived from that of 
declaring war than could the power in question; 
omission to mention the latter, therefore, proves that 
it is not granted, as does also the specification of a 
grant of jurisdiction over land ceded for fortifica- 
tions ; we are obliged to infer that in this case alone 
is the power given. 

Next, the President takes up the third argument, 
from the power to regulate commerce between the 
States. The history of this grant and of the discus- 
sions which preceded it make it evident, he says, that 



244 APPENDIX. 

it was intended merely to give power to impose duties 
on foreign trade and to prevent any on trade between 
the States. 

The fourth claim is founded on the second part of 
the first clause of Art. I. Sec. 9 of the Constitution, 
which reads, " The Congress shall have power, to lay 
and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises ; to pay 
the debts and provide for the common defence and 
general welfare of the United States ; but all duties, 
imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the 
United States." The reasoning upon this point is 
in substance the following : The second phrase here 
used gives a right to appropriate the public money, 
and it gives this power alone. For, first, if the right 
of appropriation is not given by this clause it is not 
given at all ; secondly, this part of the grant has none 
of the characteristics of a distinct and original power, 
but is manifestly incidental to the first part ; thirdly, 
if this is not its real meaning it has a scope so wide 
as to make unnecessary all the other grants in the 
Constitution, for they would be included in this; 
further, the place which this phrase occupies is ex- 
actly the one most fitting for a grant of the right of 
appropriation. If, then, this is the power here granted, 
it remains to inquire what is the extent of this pjwer. 
One construction is, that the government has no right 
to expend money except in the performance of acts 
authorized by the other specific grants, according to 
a strict construction of their nature. " To this con- 
struction," says President Monroe, " I was inclined 
in the more early stage of our government ; but, on 



APPENDIX. 245 

further reflection and observation, my mind has un- 
dergone a change, for reasons which I will frankly 
unfold." The power to raise money and the power 
to appropriate it are both, in this grant, conveyed in 
terms as general and unqualified as, for instance, 
those conceding to Congress the power to declare 
war. More comprehensive terms than " to pay the 
debts and provide for the common defence and gen- 
eral welfare " could not have been used. And so 
intimately connected with and dependent on each 
other are the two branches of power granted, that a 
limitation of one would have had the like effect upon 
the other. But indeed it was impossible to have 
created a power within the government, distinct from 
Congress and the Executive, which should control the 
movement of the government in respect to expendi- 
tures, and not destroy it. This, then, must be the 
nature of the grant of appropriation. Have Con- 
gress, then, a right to raise and appropriate the public 
money to any and to every purpose, according to 
their will and pleasure? They certainly have not. 
The government of the United States is a limited 
government, instituted for great national purposes, 
and for those only. Good roads and canals will, 
however, promote many very important national pur- 
poses. To the appropriation of the public money to 
such improvements there seems to be no well-founded 
constitutional objection ; to do anything further than 
this the general government is not competent. This 
has also been the practice of our government; for in- 
stance, in the case of the Cumberland Road, all the 



246 APPENDIX. 

acts of the United States have been based on the 
principle that the sovereignty and jurisdiction be- 
loneed not to the general government but to the 
States ; Congress has simply appropriated money 
from the public treasury, thus aiding a work of great 
national utility. 

The conclusion reached upon this point is, there- 
fore, that the right to make internal improvements 
has not been granted by the power to " provide for 
the common defence and general welfare," but only 
the right to appropriate the public money ; that the 
government itself being limited, the power to appro- 
priate is also limited, the extent of the government, 
as designated by the specific grants, marking the ex- 
tent of the power, which should, however, be ex- 
tended to every object embraced by the fair scope of 
those grants, and not confined to a strict construc- 
tion of their respective powers (it being safer to aid 
the purposes of those grants by the appropriation of 
money than to extend, by a forced construction, the 
grant itself) ; and that, though the right to appropri- 
ate is indispensable, it is insufficient as a power if a 
great scheme of improvements is contemplated. 

Agaiust the fifth source suggested, the power to 
make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into 
execution all powers vested by the Constitution in 
the general government, it is urged that such a power 
is not by that instrument so vested. 

Sixthly, the second clause of Art. II. Sec. 3 of the 
Constitution is shown, by the first clause and by the 
history of the cessions of land to the United States 



APPENDIX. 247 

by the States, to refer to such lands only. The power 
to make all needful regulations respecting the terri- 
tory and other property of the United States has, 
therefore, no bearing upon the subject of internal im- 
provements to be made by the general government. 

Therefore it is concluded that the desired power is 
not possessed. Much more than the right to appro- 
priate is required ; territorial jurisdiction over the 
roads is not, however, necessary, but may be left to 
the States, if the government have the power to pro- 
tect its works. 

The great advantages of such improvements are 
easily seen, while no other region can, from its config- 
uration, be improved so vastly by roads and canals at 
so slight expense. The interchange of our varied pro- 
ductions would be rendered more easy and commerce 
increased ; the efficiency of both the general and the 
State governments, the intelligence of the people, 
the strength of the Union, and the expansion of our 
system, would be greatly promoted. It cannot be 
doubted that such improvements can be made by the 
general government better than by the local govern- 
ments, liable to jealousies and influences not felt by 
the former. The Cumberland Road, in particular, 
has a pressing need of the use of this power by the 
national government. 

" If it is thought proper," concludes the President, 
" to vest this power in the United States, the only 
mode in which it can be done is by an amendment of 
the Constitution. On full consideration, therefore, 
of the whole subject, I am of opinion that such an 



248 APPENDIX. 

amendment ought to be recommended to the sev- 
eral States for their adoption. It is, however, my 
opinion that the power should be confined to great 
national works only, since, if it were unlimited, it 
would be liable to abuse and might be productive of 
evil." 

President Monroe in his sixth annual message, 
dated December 3, 1822, touches upon a great variety 
of subjects. He reports the conclusion of a satisfac- 
tory commercial convention with France, the opening 
of trade with the British Colonies, and a decision by 
the Emperor of Russia upon Article I. of the Treaty 
of Ghent, and recommends the legislation which 
these events require. He announces the formation 
of a territorial government for Florida ; states the 
prosperous condition of the finances ; summarizes the 
report of the Secretary of War, especially as to the 
Academy at West Point, and that of the Secretary of 
the Navy ; and recommends the removal of the Semi- 
noles. Referring to his message upon the Cumber- 
land Road, he suggests that if Congress do not see 
fit to propose the amendment there advised, it can 
certainly take measures to repair and protect the 
road ; he further recommends increased protective 
duties. The remainder of the message deals with 
foreign affairs. The President expresses his hope 
that Spain will soon give up the contest with her 
colonies, and exhibits strong sympathy with the cause 
of Greece. In view of the complications in Europe 
which make war imminent, he exhorts the nation, 



APPENDIX. 249 

while it congratulates itself upon its exemption from 
the causes which disturb peace elsewhere, to keep 
itself ever in a position to defend its liberties in any- 
emergency. 

At the beginning of his seventh annual message, 
December 2, 1823, the President explains the pur- 
pose of his messages, declaring that, as with us the 
people are exclusively the sovereigns, they should be 
informed on all public matters, especially foreign 
affairs and finance. Progress is reported in various 
negotiations. Our government having begun to nego- 
tiate with the Russian emperor and with England in 
regard to the northwest boundary, " the occasion has 
been judged proper for asserting, as a principle in 
which the rights and interests of the United States 
are involved, that the American continents, by the 
free and independent condition which they have as- 
sumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be con- 
sidered as subjects for future colonization by any 
European powers." He mentions the proposals of 
our government that the slave-trade be declared pi- 
racy, and that privateering be abolished, and expresses 
strong approval of both these measures. The con- 
dition of the finances, the War Department, the mili- 
tia, the navy, piracies in the Gulf, the Post-Office 
Department, the tariff, the public accounts, and the 
Cumberland Road, is described, without recommen- 
dations of special significance. The project for the 
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is mentioned with ap- 
proval, and an appropriation for a survey is recom- 
mended, as well as for other public works. The 



250 APPENDIX. 

most ardent wishes for the success of Greece in win- 
ning independence are expressed. Then follows a 
celebrated passage, already reproduced in the text 
of this book. See p. 158. 

The message closes with a comparison of the pres- 
ent state of the country with that at the close of the 
Revolution, touching upon the additions to our terri- 
tory, the expansion of our population, the accession 
of new States, and the strengthening of our system 
to such an extent that consolidation and disunion are 
both impracticable. 

A special message, sent to Congress on February 
24, 1824, submitted to their consideration the claim 
of a portion of the Massachusetts militia to compen- 
sation for services in the lafee war. The decision of 
the Governor of Massachusetts, that the power to 
call out the militia of a State was conditional upon 
the consent of its Executive, and that when called out 
they could not be placed under the command of an 
officer of the regular army, had previously made it 
impossible for the national Executive to make such 
compensation. Now, however, the principle in dis- 
pute being conceded by that State, favorable action 
is recommended to Congress. 

The important matters mentioned in the last an- 
nual message of President Monroe, that of Decem- 
ber 7, 1824, aside from those which appear in the 
same form in previous messages, are : the slave- 
trade, the rights of neutrals, the engineers' surveys, 
the visit of General Lafayette, the relations of our 
government with those of South America, the Su- 



APPENDIX. 251 

preme Court, and the Indians. A convention between 
the United States and Great Britain, declaring the 
slave-trade piratical, has been concluded but not yet 
ratified. An effort has been made, on occasion of the 
war between France and Spain, to put upon a more 
just basis the rights of neutral vessels in time of war, 
and it is hoped will prove successful. In view of the 
extensive roads and canals now projected, it is rec- 
ommended that the corps of engineers be increased. 
The arrival of General Lafayette and his warm wel- 
come are mentioned, and it is suggested that in 
consideration of his services a suitable provision be 
tendered him by Congress. The independent States 
of South America are reported to be following the 
example of our prosperity, in spite of some presum- 
ably temporary disturbances ; the most friendly feel- 
ings toward them are expressed. The President 
recommends an organization of the Supreme Court 
which will relieve the judges of that court from any 
duties not connected with it, and will be more suited 
to the requirements of the present day ; that some 
wise and humane arrangement be made for the In- 
dians (perhaps settling them in the territory toward 
the Rocky Mountains), which will lead to their per- 
manent settlement in agricultural pursuits, and ulti- 
mately to their civilization, for which it is our solemn 
duty to provide ; and that the propriety of establish- 
ing a military station on the Pacific Coast be consid- 
ered. He again reminds the nation of the many 
blessings it enjoys, and exhorts it to preserve them 
from dangers without and dissensions within, and 



252 APPENDIX. 

concludes this, his last annual message, with expres- 
sions of gratitude for the public confidence and the 
generous support received from his fellow-citizens. 

During the session of 1825 several brief special 
messages were sent to Congress. In the first, dated 
January 5, the President requests a full investigation 
of his accounts with the government during his long 
public service, with a view to a decision upon them 
hereafter. In the second, dated January 10, he 
gives reasons for withholding the documents, called 
for by the House of Representatives, concerning the 
conduct of Commodore Stewart and Mr. Provost in 
South America. With the third, also addressed to the 
House and dated January 27, he transmits a report 
of the Secretary of War in regard to the removal of 
Indians to the West, and recommends that some 
scheme of good government for them be adopted. 
With the fourth, of February 14, he transmits to the 
House a report of the Secretary of War on certain 
surveys for internal improvements. The fifth, of 
February 17, concerns special affairs of the District 
of Columbia. The sixth, of February 21, again 
refers the claims of the Massachusetts militia to Con- 
gress, to whom, and not to the Executive, belongs 
the decision of the matter. The last message, dated 
February 26, 1825, concerns a matter of mere rou- 
tine, the unintentional neglect to sign a certain bill. 



APPENDIX. 253 



IV. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MONROE, AND THE MONROE 

DOCTRINE. 

PREPARED FOR THIS WORK BY J. F. JAMESON, PH. D. 

The following bibliography has been prepared 
with a view to the needs of persons specially study- 
ing the career of Monroe, rather than to those of 
the general reader. Hence it does not ordinarily in- 
clude references to the most familiar sources, such as 
the State Papers, the published correspondence of 
Washington, etc., and the standard histories. It aims 
to include nothing that does not bear directly upon 
Monroe or the Monroe Doctrine ; nor, in even the 
limited area thus marked out, can it hope to be 
complete. The titles under A are arranged alpha- 
betically by authors ; those under B chronologically ; 
those under C first chronologically, according to the 
period of Monroe's public life to which they refer, 
and then alphabetically by authors. At least one 
locality of a book or pamphlet, unless it be a common 
one, has been designated when known. In such des- 
ignations, at the end of the title, A indicates the 
existence of a copy in the Astor Library ; B, in the 
Boston Public Library ; BA, in that of the Boston 
Athenaeum; C, in the library of Congress; H, in 
that of Harvard College ; JCB, in the John Carter 
Brown Library ; JH, in that of the Johns Hopkins 
University ;. M, in the Massachusetts State Library ; 



254 APPENDIX. 

MH, in that of the Massachusetts Historical Society ; 
N, in the New York State Library ; NH, in that of 
the New York Historical Society ; P, in that of the 
Philadelphia Library Company ; S, in that of the 
Department of State ; W, in that of the American 
Antiquarian Society at Worcester. The Maryland 
Historical Society is supplied with most of the works 
to which reference has been made in the preparation 
of this volume. 

SYNOPSIS. 

A. Biographical. 

B. Published Writings of Monroe. 

C. Publications relating to the Public Career or 

the Writings of Monroe. 

1. First Diplomatic Service and the " View." 

2. Louisiana Purchase and Spanish Mission. 

3. Diplomatic Efforts in England. 

4. Period of Cabinet Office. 

5. Presidency. 

6. Subsequent Period. 

D. The Monroe Doctrine. 

1. Its Immediate Origin. 

2. Discussion of it in Treatises on International Law. 

3. In more Special Treatises and Articles. 
a. American. b. European. 

4. Occasions on which it has been applied. 

a. The Panama Congress. 

b. Yucatan. 

c. The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty. 

d. Central America, 1845-1860. 

e. Cuba, etc., 1850-1860. 

f. French Intervention in Mexico. 

g. The Inter-oceanic Canal. 

h. America North of the United States. 



APPENDIX. 255 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

A. Biographical. 

John Quincy Adams : An Eulogy on the Life and Character 
of James Monroe, Fifth President of the United States, . . . 
delivered at . . . Boston, August 25, 1831. Boston, 1831. 
8vo, pp. 100. BA, N. 
(See [John Armstrong] under C. 6, p. 268.) 

John Quincy Adams : Lives of Celebrated Statesmen. [Madi- 
son, Lafayette, and Monroe.] New York, 1846. 8vo, pp. 
105. N. 

John Quincy Adams : The Lives of James Madison and James 
Monroe, Fourth and Fifth Presidents of the United States. 
With Historical Notices of their Administrations. Buffalo, 
1850. 12mo, pp. 432. C. -f Philadelphia, 1854. M. 1 

S. L. Gouverneur : Introduction to " The People, the Sover- 
eigns," by James Monroe. See under B. 

S. L. K[napp] : in James B. Longacre and James Herring, 
National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans, vol. 
3. Philadelphia, 1836. 8vo. 

[S. L. Knapp] : James Monroe, [n. p. n. d.] 8vo, pp. 10. 
(Portrait.) 

Joshua Leavitt: The Administration of Monroe. Harper's 
Monthly Magazine, vol. 29, p. 461. September, 1864. 

Lippincott's Magazine, first series, vol. 9, p. 359. 

A Narrative of a Tour of Observation, made during the Sum- 
mer of 1817, by James Monroe, President of the United 
States, through the North-Eastern and North- Western De- 
partments of the Union ; with a View to the Examination of 
their several Military Defences. With an Appendix. Phila- 
delphia, 1818. 12mo, pp. 228, xxxvi. B, C, N. 

New England Magazine, vol. 1, p. 178. 

New York Mirror, vol. 12 [1834-5], p. 41. (Portrait.) 

Niles' Register, vol. 10, p. 4, March 2, 1816; from the 
National Advocate. Also, December 3, 1825, and vol. 35, 
p. 68. Also, vol. 40, p. 369, July 23, 1831. 

1 The sign + indicates another edition. 



256 APPENDIX. 

Order of Exercises at the Old South Church, Commemora- 
tive of . . . James Monroe. . . . August 25, 1831. Boston, 
1831. 8vo, pp. 8. B. 

T. Paine : Anecdote of James Monroe and Rufus King, in 
Political Writings. London, 1S44. BA, C. 

Portfolio, vol. 19, p. 251 ; fourth Series, vol.5. Philadelphia, 
April, 1818. (Portrait.) 

S. Putnam Waldo: Tour of James Monroe, President of the 
United States, in the Year 1817, through the States of Mary- 
land, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, 
Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, 
and Ohio; together with a Sketch of his Life. Hartford, 

1818. I2mo,pp.300. BA. 

S. P. Waldo : Tour of James Monroe, President of the United 
States, through the Northern and Eastern States, in 1817 ; 
his Tour in 1S18, with a Sketch of his Life. Hartford, 

1819. 12mo. C. 

In Edwin Williams : The Statesman's Manual. New York, 

1847. 8vo, vol. 1. 
Udolpho Wolfe : Grand Civic and Military Demonstration in 
Honor of the Removal of the Remains of James Monroe, 
Fifth President of the United States, from New York to Vir- 
ginia. New York, 1858. 12mo, pp. 324. C. 
(And numerous unimportant notices in lives of the presi- 
dents, cyclopaedias, and biographical dictionaries.) 

B. Published Writings of Monroe, 

(in addition to the messages, dispatches, and letters which 
may be found in familiar sources. Manuscripts of Monroe's 
public papers are in the possession of the Department of 
State ; much of his private correspondence is in the posses- 
sion of Mrs. S. L. Gouverneur, Jr., of Washington.) 

A View of the Conduct of the Executive, in the Foreign 
Affairs of the United States, connected with the Mission to 
the French Republic in the years 1794, '5, and '6. By James 
Monroe. . . . Illustrated by his Instructions and Correspond- 



APPENDIX. 257 

ence and other Authentic Documents. Philadelphia, 1797. 
8vo, pp. lxvi., 407. -f- Same, the Second Edition. London, 
1798. 8vo, pp.viii., 117. -\- Same, the Third Edition. Lon- 
don, 1798. 8vo, pp. xvi., 117. 
[See London Monthly Review, vol 25, p. 232.] 

Governor's Letter to the Speaker and House of Delegates of 
Virginia, 6th December, 1802. Richmond, 1802. 12mo. C. 

A Letter from the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United 
States to Lord Mulgrave, late Secretary of State for Foreign 
Affairs. With [James Madison] : An Examination of the 
British Doctrine which subjects to Capture a Neutral Trade 
not open in Time of Peace, [n. p.] 1806. 8vo, pp. 204. 
+ Second Edition. London, 1806. B, C. 

Correspondence between . . . Thomas Jefferson, President of 
the United States, and James Monroe, Esq. . . . Boston, 
1808. 4to, pp. 8. BA. 

Letter from the Secretary of State to Mr. Monroe, on the sub- 
ject of the attack on the Chesapeake. The Correspondence 
of Mr. Monroe with the British Government; and also, 
Mr. Madison's Correspondence with Mr. Rose, on the same 
subject. Washington, 1808. 8vo. (Peabody Library, Bal- 
timore.) 

Letters of James Madison ... to Mr. Monroe on . . . Im- 
pressments, etc. Also Extracts from, and Enclosures in, the 
Letters of Mr. Monroe to the Secretary of State. Washing- 
ton, 1808. 8vo, pp. 130. B, MH. 

Defence of the Mission to England. . . . Washington, 1808. 
8vo. 

Letters between James Monroe, Esq., Secretary of State of 
the United States, and Augustus J. Foster, Esq., . . . 
Minister Plenipotentiary of His Britannic Majesty ; in rela- 
tion to the Orders in Council, and the Affair of the Little 
Belt. To which is added, the Declaration of War. New 
York, 1812. 12mo, pp. 59. B. 

To all who are honestly searching after the Truth. Mr. Mon- 
roe's Letter on the Rejected Treaty between the United 
States and Great Britain, concluded by Messrs. Monroe and 
17 



258 APPENDIX. 

Pinkney. Also the Treaty itself, and Documents connected 
with it. Portland, 1813. 8vo, pp. 52. BA, C. 

Commercial Regulations of Foreign Countries. [Message.] 
Washington, 1819. BA. 

Message from the President, transmitting Sundry Papers 
relating to Transactions in East and West Florida. April 
19,1822. [Washington, 1822.] Pp.46. P. 

Message transmitting a Digest of the Commercial Regula- 
tions of the Different Foreign Nations. Washington, 1824. 
18th Congress, 1st Session, House Doc. No. 130. BA, M. 

Message transmitting a Report of the Secretary of the Navy. 
Washington, 1824. 8vo. C 

Correspondence between Gen. Jackson and Mr. Monroe, as 
published in the National Intelligencer. Washington, 1824. 
12mo. N. 

The Memoir of James Monroe, Esq., relating to his Unsettled 
Claims upon the People and Government of the United 
States. [With documents.] Charlottesville, Va., 1828. 8vo, 
pp. 60. BA, C, NH. 

A Letter from James Monroe, in Answer to . . . Questions 
[on War and Slavery, etc.] . . . [n. p. 1863?]. 8vo, pp. 
32. H. 

The People, the Sovereigns, Being a Comparison of the Gov- 
ernment of the United States with those of the Republicks, 
which have existed before, with the Causes of their Deca- 
dence and Fall. By James Monroe. Edited by S. L. Gou- 
verneur. Philadelphia, 1867. 12mo, pp. 274. 
(See, under C 6, C. C. Hazewell, p. 267.) 

C. Publications relating to the Public Career or 
the Writings of Monroe. 

1. First Diplomatic Service and the " View." 

Alexander Addison : Observations on the Speech of Albert 
Gallatin on the Foreign Intercourse Bill. Washington, 
Pa., 1798. 8vo. 

An Address on the Past, Present, and Eventual Relations of 



APPENDIX. 259 

the United States to France. By Anticipation. New York, 
[1803]. 8vo, pp r 20. A. 

P. A. Adet : Notes adressees par le cito} T en Adet, Ministre 
Plenipotentiaire de la Re'publique Francaise pres les Etats- 
Unis d'Amerique, Au Secretaire d'Etat des Etats-Unis. 
Philadelphia, 1796. 8vo, pp. 95. -j- Same, translated. 

[P. A. Adet] : Authentic Translation of a Note from the Min- 
ister of the French Republic to the Secretary of State of 
the United States. New York, 1796. 8vo, pp. 38. N. 
(See, also, Wm. Cobbett.) 

The Anti-Gallican ; or, The Lover of his own Country; in a 
Series of Pieces . . . wherein French Influence, and False 
Patriotism, are fully and fairly displayed. By a Citizen of 
New England. Philadelphia, 1797. 8vo, pp. 82. [Includes 
Letters on Pseudo-Patriots, by Ascanius ; of which No. VI. 
is on James Monroe.] H. 

Camillus, pseud. : History of French Influence in the United 
States. Philadelphia, 1812. M. 

[William Cobbett] : A History of the American Jacobins, com- 
monly denominated Democrats. By Peter Porcupine. In 
Wm. Playfair, The History of Jacobinism. Philadelphia, 
1795. P. 

[William Cobbett] : The Gros Mosqueton Diplomatique ; or, 
Diplomatic Blunderbuss, containing Citizen Adet's Notes to 
the Secretary of State, as also his Cockade Proclamation. 
With a Preface by Peter Porcupine. Philadelphia, 1796. 
8vo, pp. 72. C. 

William Cobbett: Porcupine's Works. London, 1801. 8vo. 
[Vol. iv. contains The Diplomatic Blunderbuss (Oct. 31, 
1796); Political Censor, No. vi. (Nov. 1796); A Brief 
Statement of the Injuries and Insults received from France 
(Feb. 1 797). In vol. v. pp. 131-138 ; vol. vi. pp. 12, 13, 92- 
98, 116-124, 358-376, 414-417 ; vol. vii. pp. 90-95, 151-156, 
are notices of Monroe's doings, from Porcupine's Gazette, 
1797. Vol. x., Dr. Morse's Exposition of French Intrigue 
in America.] 

Coup d'ceil sur la situation des affaires entre la France et les 
Etats-Unis de l'Amerique. 1798. 8vo, pp. 28. BA. 



260 APPENDIX. 

J.Dennis : Address on the Origin, Progress, and Present State 
of French Aggression. Philadelphia, 1798. BA. 

Wm. Duane: A History of the French Revolution, with a 
free Examination of the Dispute between the French and 
American Republics. Philadelphia, 1798. 4to. 

Joseph Fauchet : Coup d'oeil sur l'etat actnel de nos rapports 
politiqucs avec les Etats-Unis de l'Amerique Septentrionale; 
par J. Fauchet, Ex-miuistre de la Re'publique a Philadelphie. 
Paris, an V. [1797.] 8vo, pp. 42. II. 

Joseph Fauchet : A Sketch of the Present State of our Polit- 
ical Relations with the United States of North America. 
. . . Translated by the Editor of the " Aurora." [Wm. J. 
Duane] Philadelphia, 1 797. 8vo, pp. 31. BA. 

A Five Minutes' Answer to Paine's Letter to Washington. 
London 1797. 8vo, pp. 44. ME 
(See below, T. Paine.) 

[Albert Gallatin] : An Examination of the Conduct of the 
Executive of the United States towards the French Repub- 
lic ; ... In a Series of Letters. By a Citizen of Pennsyl- 
vania. Philadelphia, 1797. 8vo, pp. vi., 72. BA. 

Albert Gallatin : The Speech of Albert Gallatin, delivered in 
the House of Representatives ... on the First of March, 
1798. Upon the Foreign Intercourse Bill. [n. p. 1798.] 
8vo, pp. 48. (And other editions.) BA, H, MH, P, JCB. 

[A. G. Gebhardt] : Actes et Memoires coneernant les nego- 
ciations qui out eu lieu entre la France et les Etats-Unis 
d'Amerique. [1793-1800.] Londres, 1807. 3 vols. 12mo. 
BA. 

A. G. Gebhardt : State Papers relating to the Diplomatick 
Transactions between the American and French Govern- 
ments. [1793-1800.] London, 1816. 3 vols. 8vo. BA. 

L. Goldsmith : An Exposition of the Conduct of France to 
America, illustrated by Cases decided in the Council of 
Prizes in Paris. [1793-1808.] London, 1810. 8vo, pp. 133. 
(Various other editions.) B, BA, H. 

[Alexander Hamilton]. See [Uriah Tracy] below. 

R. G. Harper : Observations on the Dispute between the 



APPENDIX. 261 

United States and France, addressed by Robert Goodloe 
Harper, Esq., of South Carolina, to his Constituents, in 
May, 1797. Philadelphia, 1797. 8vo, pp. 102. (And twenty 
other editions.) B, BA, H, NH, P. 

R. G. Harper : Mr. Harper's Speech on the Foreign Inter- 
course Bill, in Reply to Mr. Nicholas and Mr. Gallatin. De- 
livered in the House of Representatives of the United States, 
on the second of March, 1798. [n. p. n. d.] 8vo, pp. 43. 
(And other editions.) B, H, MH, NH, P. 

R. G. Harper : A short Account of the principal Proceedings 
of Congress in the late Session, and a Sketch of the State 
of Affairs between the United States and France, in July, 
1798, in a Letter to one of his Constituents. Philadelphia, 
1798. 8vo. 

P. Kennedy : An Answer to Mr. Paine's Letter to General 
Washington ; or, Mad Tom convicted of the Blackest In- 
gratitude. London, 1797. 8vo, pp. 55. JCB. 

A Letter to Thomas Paine, in Answer to his Scurrilous Epis- 
tle .. . to Washington . . . By an American Citizen. New 
York, 1797. 8vo, pp. 24. 

L'Independance absolue des Ame'ricains des Etats-Unis, prou- 
vee par l'e'tat actuel de leur Commerce avec les Nations 
Europeennes. Paris, 1798. 8vo, pp. 149. (Written by an 
American merchant, in answer to Fauchet, Coup d'ceil, 
above. ) 

Thomas Paine : A Letter to George Washington, President 
of the United States, on Affairs Public and Private. Phila- 
delphia, 1796. 8vo, pp. 76. (And other editions.) B, BA, 
H. (Also in vol. i. of Works. Philadelphia, 1854. 12mo.) 

E. C. J. Pastoret: Conseil des Cinq-Cents : motion d'ordre sur 
l'etat de nos rapports politiques et commerciaux avec les 
Etats-Unis de rAmeriqne septentrionale. Paris, an V. 
[1797.] 8vo, pp. 26. BA. 

[Timothy Pickering] : Lettre du Secretaire d'Etat des Etats- 
Unis de rAmeriqne au General Charles C. Pinckney, Min- 
istre Plenipotentiaire des dits Etats-Unis pres la Republique 
Francaise ; en reponse aux diffcrentes plaintes faites contre 



262 APPENDIX. 

le gouvernement des Etats-Unis par le Ministre Francais 
. . . 1796. Paris, 1797. 8vo, pp. 62. 
Timothy Pickering and P. A. Adet : Review of the Adminis- 
tration of the United States since '93. Boston, 1797. BA. 
C. C. Tanguy de la Boissiere : Observations sur la depeche 
e'crite le 16 Jan., 1797, par M. Pickering, Secretaire d'Etat 
des Etats-Unis de l'Ame'rique, a M. Pinkney, Ministre Ple'ni- 
potentiaire des Etats-Unis pres la Re'publique Francaise. 
Philadelphie, 1797. Also, translated. BA, C. 
[Uriah Tracy, or (?) Alexander Hamilton] : Reflections on 
Monroe's View, ... as published in the Gazette of the 
United States under the Signature of Scipio. [n. p. n. d.] 
8vo, pp. 88. BA, P. 
[Uriah Tracy, or (?) Alexander Hamilton] : [Scipio's] Reflec- 
tions on Monroe's View. . . . Boston, 1798. 8vo, pp. 140. 
C, H, M. 
George Washington: Notes on Monroe's View, Sparks, xi. 
504-529. (His Notes on the Appendix to the View are 
printed in Appendix III of this book.) 
[R. Walsh] : An Enquiry into the Past and Present Relations 
of France and the United States of America. [London, 
1811.] 8vo, pp. 87. (Reprinted from the American Review, 
vol. i.) 

2. Louisiana Purchase and Spanish Mission. 

Analysis of the Third Article of the Treaty of Cession of 
Louisiana. [Washington. (?)] 1803. 8vo, pp. 8. 

Atlantic Monthly, vol. 32, p. 301. The Louisiana Purchase. 
(Has been reprinted.) 

Samuel Brazer, Jr. : Address pronounced at Worcester, May 
12, 1804, in Commemoration of the Cession of Louisiana to 
the United States. Worcester, 1804. 8vo, pp. 15. MH. 

[Charles Brockden Brown] : An Address to the Government 

of the United States on the Cession of Louisiana to the 

French, and on the late Breach of Treaty by the Spaniards. 

Philadelphia, 1803. 8vo, pp. 92. C, N. 

[Charles Brockden Brown]: Monroe's Embassy; or, The 



APPENDIX. 263 

Conduct of the Government in relation to our Claims to 
the Navigation of the Mississippi, considered, by the Au- 
thor of the Address to the Government. . . . [Signed " Pop- 
licola."] Philadelphia, 1803. 8vo, pp. 57. BA, C. 

Camillus, pseud. See Duane, below. 

James Cheetham : Letters on our Affairs with Spain. New 
York, 1804. 8vo, pp. 59. C 

Wm. Duane : Mississippi Question. Eeport of a Debate in 
the Senate of the United States, on the 23d, 24th, and 25th 
Feb., 1803, on Certain Resolutions concerning the Viola- 
tion of the Right of Deposit in the Island of New Orleans. 
Philadelphia, 1803. 8vo, pp. 198. BA, H. 

[Wm. Duane] : Camillus, pseud. The Mississippi Question 
fairly stated, and the Views and Arguments of those who 
clamor for War, examined. In Seven Letters. Philadel- 
phia, 1803. 8vo, pp. 48. BA. 

[Wm. Fessenden] : The Political Farrago, or a Miscellaneous 
Review of the Politics of the United States, . . . including 
. . . Remarks on the " Louisiana Purchase," . . . by Peter 
Dobbin, Esq., R. C. U. S. A. Brattleboro', Vt., 1807, pp. 
59. W. 

Wm. Maclure : To the People of the United States on the 
Convention with France of 1803. Philadelphia, 1807. P. 

A. B. Magruder : Reflections on the Cession of Louisiana to 
the United States. Lexington, 1803. BA. 

F. de Barbe-Marbois : Histoire de la Louisiane et de la Ces- 
sion de cette Colonie par la France aux Etats-Unis de 
lAmerique septentrionale. Paris, 1829. 8vo, pp. 485 
BA, H. 

F. de Barbe-Marbois : The History of Louisiana, particularly 
of the Cession of that Colony to the United States of 
America. Translated from the French by an American 
Citizen. [William Beach Lawrence.] Philadelphia, 1830. 
8vo, pp. xviii., 455. C, H. (See Sparks, below.) 

Memoires sur la Louisiane et la Nouvelle-Orle'ans, accompagne 
d'uue Dissertation sur les avantages que le commerce de 
l'Empire doit tirer de la stipulation faite par l'article 7 du 



264 APPENDIX. 

Traits de cession, du 30 avril 1803 ; par M. * * * Paris, an 
XII. (1804). 8vo, pp. 176. 
G. Morris. See Ross, below. 

Geo. Orr : The Possession of Louisiana by the French, consid- 
ered as it affects the interests of those Nations more imme- 
diately concerned, viz.: Great Britain, America, Spain, and 
Portugal. London, 1803. 8vo, pp. 45. BA. 
J. M. Peck : The Annexation of Louisiana. Christian Review, 

vol. 16, p. 555. 
Political, Commercial, and Statistical Sketches of the Spanish 
Empire in both Indies ; and a View of the Questions between 
Spain and the United States respecting Louisiana and the 
Floridas. London, 1809. 8vo, pp. 156. BA. 
David Ramsay : Oration on the Cession of Louisiana to the 
United States: delivered May 12, 1804, in Charleston, S. C. 
Charleston, 1804. 8vo, pp. 27. BA. 
J. Ross and G Morris : Speeches in support of Ross's resolu- 
tions relating to the Free Navigation of the Mississippi. 
Philadelphia, 1803. BA. 
Jared Sparks : The History of the Louisiana Treaty. North 
American Review, vol. 28, p. 389 (April, 1829), and vol. 30, 
p. 551 (April, 1830). (Reviews of Marbois and of the 
translation of it.) 
Sylvestris, pseud. : Reflections on the Cession of Louisiana to 

the United States. Washington, 1803. BA, P. 
B. Vaughan : Remarks on a Dangerous Mistake made as to 
the East Boundary of Louisiana. Boston, 1814. 8vo, pp. 
28. BA. 

3. Diplomatic Efforts in England. 

American Candour, in a Tract lately published at Boston, en- 
titled "An Analysis,". . . etc. (See [J. Lowell], below.) 
London, 1809. 8vo. 

American State Papers and Correspondence between Messrs. 
Smith, Pinkney, Marquis Wellesley, General Armstrong, M. 
Champagny, M. Turreau, Messrs. Russell, Monroe, Foster, 
etc. London, 1812. 8vo, pp. 187, 116. H. 



APPENDIX. 265 

Nathaniel Atcheson: American Encroachment on British 
Rights. London, 1803, pp. xiii., cxiii., 250. Also in Pam- 
phleteer, vol. 6, pp. 33-98, 361-400. BA. 
A. B. : Six Letters of A. B. on the Difference between Great 
Britain and the United States of America, with a Preface 
by the Editor of the Morning Chronicle. London, 1807. 
8vo, pp. 48. BA. 
Alex. Baring : An Inquiry into the Causes and Consequences 
of the Orders in Council; and an Examination of the Con- 
duct of Great Britain towards the Neutral Commerce of 
America. London, 1808 (and other editions). C, H, P. 
(See T. P. Courtenay, below.) 
[Charles B. Brown, or G. Morris] : The British Treaty [of 
1806. n. p. 1807.] 8vo, pp. 86. BA. + The British Treaty 
with America, with an Appendix of State Papers; which 
are now first published. London, 1808. 8vo, pp. 147. N. 
James Cheetham : Peace or War? or, Thoughts on our Affairs 
with England. New York, 1807. 8vo, pp. 44. B, BA, 
MH. 
[T. P. Courtenay] : Observations on the American Treaty, in 
Eleven Letters. First published in "The Sun," under the 
Signature of " Decius." London, 1808. 8vo, pp. 75. 
T. P. Courtenay : Additional Observations on the American 
Treaty, with some Remarks on Mr. Baring's Pamphlet ; 
being a Continuation of the Letters of Decius. To which is 
added an Appendix of State Papers, including the Treaty. 
London, 1808. 8vo, pp. viii., 94, lxix. N. 
[Alexander J. Dallas] : An Exposition of the Causes and 
Character of the late War with Great Britain. Baltimore, 
1815. (And other editions.) BA, C. 
Decius, pseud. See [T. P. Courtenay], above. 
A Farmer, pseud. See Senex, pseud., below. 
Thos. G. Fessenden : Some Thoughts on the Present Dispute 
between Great Britain and America. Philadelphia, 1807. 
8vo, pp. 91. P. 
An Inquiry into the Present State of the Foreign Relations of 
the Union, as affected by the Late Measures of Administra- 
tion. Philadelphia, 1806. 8vo, pp. 183. BA. 



266 APPENDIX. 

Wm. Lee : Les Etats-Unis et l'Angleterre, ou, Souvenirs et 
Reflexions d'un Citoyen Ame'ricain. [1791-1814.] Bor- 
deaux, 1814. 8vo, pp. 346. BA, C, H. 

[J. Lowell] : Analysis of the Late Correspondence between our 
Administration and Great Britain and France. With an 
Attempt to show what are the Real Causes of the Failure of 
the Negociations between France and America. [Boston, 
1808.] BA. (See American Candour, above.) 

[J. Lowell] : Supplement to the late Analysis of the Public 
Correspondence between our Cabinet and those of France 
and Great Britain. [Boston, 1808.] 8vo, pp. 28. BA. 

[J. Lowell] : Thoughts upon the Conduct of our Administra- 
tion in Relation both to Great Britain and France, more 
especially in Reference to the Late Negotiation, concerning 
the Attack on the Chesapeake ; by a Friend to Peace. 
[1808.] 

[J. Madison.] See under B, A Letter, etc., 1806. 

[James McHenry] : Three Patriots, [Jefferson, Madison, and 
Monroe,] or, the Cause and Cure of Present Evils. Balti- 
more, 1811. 8vo. M. 

B. Mihir, pseud. : Considerations in Answer to the. Pamphlet 
containing Madison's Instructions to Monroe. Albany, 1807. 
BA. 

[G. Morris] : An Answer to " War in Disguise ; " or, Remarks 
upon the New Doctrine of England concerning Neutral 
Trade. New York, 1806. 8vo, pp. 76. (See, also, [Charles 
B. Brown], above.) 

Timothy Pickering : Letters addressed to the People of the 
United States of America on the Conduct of the Past and 
Present Administrations of the American Government 
towards Great Britain and France. London, 1812. 8vo, 
pp. 168. 

The Present Claims and Complaints of America briefly and 
fairly considered. London, 1806. 8vo, pp. 56. 

Remarks on the British Treaty with the United States. Liver- 
pool, 1807. BA. 

Report of the Committee to whom was referred the Corre- 



APPENDIX. 267 

spondence between Mr. Monroe and Mr. Canning, and 
between Mr. Madison and Mr. Rose, relative to the Attack 
on the Chesapeake. April 16, 1808. Washington, 1808. 

Senex, pseud. : Letters under the signatures of " Senex " and 
of "A Farmer," comprehending an examination of the 
conduct of our Executive toward France and Great Britain, 
out of which the present crisis has arisen. Originally pub- 
lished in the North American. Baltimore, 1809. 8vo, pp. 
108. BA. 

The Tocsin ; an Inquiry into the Late Proceedings of Great 
Britain, etc. Charleston, 1807. P. 

War in Disguise ; or, the Frauds of Neutral Flags. London, 
1805. 8vo, pp. 215. (See [G. Morris], above.) 

4. Period of Cabinet Office. 

(See [John Armstrong], under 6, below.) 

E. D. Ingraham : A Sketch of the Events which preceded the 
Capture of Washington by the British on the Twenty-fourth 
of August, 1814. Philadelphia, 1849. 8vo, pp. 66. A, B, 
BA, C. 

Remarks on " An Enquiry," etc. (See next title.) Baltimore, 
1816. 8vo. BA. 

Spectator, pseud. : Enquiry respecting the Capture of Washing- 
ton by the British. Washington, 1816. 8vo. BA. 

United States, 13th Congress, 3d session. Report of Commit- 
tee to inquire into the Causes and Particulars of the Inva- 
sion of the City of Washington by the British Forces, Au- 
gust. Washington, 1814. 8vo. BA. 

J. S. Williams : History of the Invasion and Capture of Wash- 
ington. New York, 1857. 12mo. BA. 

5. Presidency. 
Exposition of the Motives for opposing the Nomination of Mr. 

Monroe for the Office of President of the United States. 

Washington, 1816. 8vo, pp. 14. B, BA. 
[C. Pinckney] : Observations to show the Propriety of the 

Nomination of Col. J. Monroe to the Presidency. Charleston,, 

1816. BA. 



268 APPENDIX. 

Edward T. Charming: Oration delivered at Boston, July 4, 

1817. Boston, [1817.] 8vo, pp. 24. BA, MH, W. 

[J. Forsyth] : Observaciones sobre la Mcmoria del Senor Onis, 
relativa a la Negoeiacion con los Estados Unidos. (See next 
title but one.) Madrid, 1822. 8vo. 

Official Correspondence between Don Luis de Onis, Minister 
from Spain, . . . and John Quincy Adams, in relation to 
the Floridas and the Boundaries of Louisiana, etc. London, 

1818. 8vo, pp. 130. C. 

Luis de Onis : Memoria sobre las negociaciones entre Es- 
pana y los Estados-Unidos de America, que dieron motivo 
al Tratado de 1819 ; con una noticia sobre la estadistica de 
aquel pais, [i. e. Florida.] Acompana un Apendice. Ma- 
drid, 1820. 8vo. H. 

[L. de Onis] : Memoir upon the Negotiations between Spain 
and the United States of America, which led to the Treaty 
of 1819. With a Statistical Notice of that Country, [Florida]. 
Accompanied by an Appendix. [Translated by Tobias Wat- 
kins.] Washington, 1821. 8vo. H. 

John Overton : A Vindication of the Measures of the Presi- 
dent and his . . . Generals, in the Commencement and 
Termination of the Seminole War. Washington, 1819. 
8vo. N. 

Wm. Patterson : Letter to Peter Van Schaack, Kinderhook, 
N. Y., on President Monroe and his Cabinet (1822). In 
Magazine of American History, vol. 6, p. 217. 

J. F. Ratteubury : Remarks on the Cession of the Floridas to 
the United States of America, etc. London, 1819. 8vo. C. 
Also in Pamphleteer, vol. 15. 

United States, 18th Congress, 2d Session. [1825.] Reports of 
Committees, 79. On President Monroe's Accounts. B. 

Verus, pseud.: Observations on the Existing Differences be- 
tween Spain and the United States. Philadelphia, 1817. 

BA. 

6. Subsequent Period. 

[John Armstrong] : Notice of Mr. Adams' Eulogium on the 
Life and Character of James Monroe. [Washington, 1832.] 
8vo, pp. 32. C, M, N. 



APPENDIX. 269 

United States, 30th Congress, 2d Session. [1849.] Senate. 

Miscellaneous Documents, 10. On President Monroe's 

Manuscript Papers. 
C. C. Hazewell : Review of " The People, the Sovereigns." 

North American Review, vol. 105, p. 634. (Also noticed 

in the Nation, vol. 5, p. 109.) 

D. The Monroe Doctrine. 

President Monroe's Seventh Annual Message, December 2, 
1823. In Williams' Statesman's Manual, vol. 1, pp. 460, 
461 ; State Papers, Foreign Affairs, vol. 5, pp. 245-250. 

1. Its Immediate Origin. 

The Principles of the Holy Alliance ; or Notes and Manifestoes 
of the Allied Powers. London, 1823. 

North American Review, vol. 17, p. 340, October, 1823. (Re- 
view of the above. See especially pp. 373-375.) 

Diplomatic Review, vol. 13, pp. 65-69 (August 2, 1865), 73- 
74 (September 6, 1865), 81-86 (October 4, 1865). 

F. R. de Chateaubriand, Congres de Verone. Guerre d'Es- 
pagne. Negotiations. Colonies espagnoles. 2 e e'd. Paris, 
1838. 2 vols. 8vo. C. -f (Translated), Memoirs of the Con- 
gress of Verona. London, 1838. 2 vols. 8vo. C, N. 

Briefwechsel zwischen Varnhagen von Ense und Oelsner. 

Vol. 3. 

A. G. Stapleton : Tbe Political Life of the Right Honorablo 
George Canning, 1822-1827. 3 vols. London, 1831. 

Conference of Mr. Canning with Prince Polignac, October 9, 
1823 ; in Annual Register, vol. 66, p. 99. 

George Canning : Speech in the House of Commons, Decem- 
ber 12, 1826. In Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, New 
Series, vol. 16, pp. 390-398; Annual Register, vol. 68, p. 
192 ; Canning's Speeches, vol. 6, pp. 108, 109. 

Richard Rush : Memoranda of a Residence at the Court of 
London. Philadelphia, 1845. 2 vols. 

John Quincy Adams : Diary. Vols. 4 and 6, passim. 



270 APPENDIX. 

John T. Morse, Jr. : John Quincy Adams. [American States- 
men Series.] Pp. 130-137. 

Mr. Adams to Mr. Rush, July 22, 1823. State Papers, For- 
eign Affairs, vol. 5, pp. 791-793, etc. 

Mr. Clay's Resolution, offered January 20, 1824. Annals of 
Congress, 18th Congress, 1st Session, vol. 1, p. 1104; Ben- 
ton's Abridgment, vol. 8, p. G50 ; Mies' Register, vol. 25, 
p. 335. 

President Monroe's Eighth Annual Message, December 7, 
1824. In Statesman's Manual, vol. 1, pp. 476, 479,480; 
State Papers, Foreign Affairs, vol. 5, pp. 353-359. 

Jefferson to Monroe, October 24, 1823. Works, vol. 7, pp. 
315-317. 

Madison to Monroe, October 30, 1823. Works, vol. 3, p. 339. 

Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. No. 23. 
1882. Extracts from the Letters and Diary of William 
Plumer, Jr. 

2. Discussion of it in the Chief Treatises on International Law. 

J. C. Bluntschli : Droit International Codifie'. Paris, 1870. 

Pp. 253, 254. S, JH. 
Carlos Calvo : Derecho Internacional Teorico y Practico de 

Europa y America. Paris, 1868. Vol. 1, pp. 142-154, and 

note (from Dana's Wheaton). S. -f- French translation, 

Droit International, etc. 3 e e'd., Paris, 1880. JH. 
Sir Edward S. Creasy : First Platform of International Law. 

London, 1876. Pp. 120-124. S, JH. 
A. W. Heff ter : Das Europaische Volkerrecht der Gcgenwart. 

Berlin, 1873. Pp. 96-98. S, JH. 
Wm. Beach Lawrence : Commentaire sur les Elements du 

Droit International et sur L'Histoire des Progres du Droit 

des Gens de Henry Wheaton. Leipzig (4 vols.), 1868-1880. 

Vol. 2 (1869), pp. 297-394. S, JH. 
G. F. de Martens: Precis du Droit des gens moderne de l'Eu- 

rope ; augmente des notes de Pinheiro-Ferreira. Paris, 

1864. Vol. 1, pp. 208-214. S. 
Robert Phillimore : Commentaries upon International Law. 

London, 1854-1857. Vol. 1, p. 433. JH. 



APPENDIX. 271 

Henry Wheaton : Elements of International Law. Law- 
rence's edition (1855), p. 97 ; Dana's edition (1866), p. 112. 

3. In more Special Treatises and Articles. 

a. AMERICAN. 

John Quincy Adams. See Edward Everett, below. 
America for Americans. Democratic Review, vol. 32, pp. 

187, 193; vol.37, p. 263. 
H. A. Boardman : New Doctrine of Intervention, tried by the 

Writings of Washington. Philadelphia, 1852. 8vo pp. 

63. C. 

James Buchanan: Article on the Monroe Doctrine, in Mr. 
Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion. 
New York, 1866. 8vo. BA. 

Catholic World, vol. 31, p. 116. April, 1880. 

[Wm. Duane] : The Two Americas, Great Britain, and the 
Holy Alliance. Washington, 1824. 8vo. P. 

[A. H. Everett] : America, or a General Survey of the Polit- 
ical Situation of the Several Powers of the Western Conti- 
nent. ... By a Citizen of the United States. Philadelphia 
1827. 

Edward Everett, John Quincy Adams, and others : The Mon- 
roe Doctrine. New York, 1863. 8vo, pp. 17. Also, as No. 
34 of the Loyal Publication Society. 1863. 8vo, pp. 11. 
[Contains Mr. Everett's letter of September 2, 1863, in the 
New York Ledger, and Mr. Adams' letter of August 11, 
1837, to the Rev. Dr. Channing.] H, M. 

Harper's Monthly, vol. 18, p. 418. (Easy Chair.) The Mon- 
roe Doctrine Abroad. 

Intervention of the United States: The Crisis in Europe. 
Democratic Review, vol. 30, pp. 401 and 554, May, June, 
1852. 

J. A. Kasson : The Monroe Declaration. North American 
Review, vol. 133, pp. 241-254, September, 1881. 

J. A. Kasson: The Monroe Doctrine in 1881. North Amer- 
ican Review, vol. 133, pp. 523-533, December, 1881. 



272 APPENDIX. 

Gustav Korner : The True Monroe Doctrine. Nation, Janu- 
ary 5, 1882, vol. 34, p. 9. 

Joshua Leavitt : The Monroe Doctrine. New York, 1863. 
8vo, pp. 50. H. (Reprint of article, New Englander, vol. 
22, p. 729, October, 1863. See, also, Joshua Leavitt, under 
A, above, a part of that article.) 

National Quarterly Review, vol. 13, p. 114. (1866.) The 
Monroe Doctrine and the South American Republics. 

J. C. Welling : The Monroe Doctrine on Intervention. North 
American Review, vol. 82, p. 478. (1856.) 

Theodore D. YVoolsey. Article " Monroe Doctrine " in John- 
son's Cyclopaedia. 

b. EUROPEAN. 

G. Carnazza Amari : Nuova Esposizione del Principio del non 

Intervento. Catania, 1873. Pp. 16-24. S. In French, in 

Revue de Droit International, 1873, pp. 352-390, 531-566. 
Benner : Article, " Intervention," in Bluntschli's Staatswort- 

erbuch. 
Carlos Calvo : Une page de droit international, ou TAmeri- 

que du Sud devant la science du droit des gens moderne. 

Paris, 2 e ed., 1870. 2 vols. 
Diplomatic Review, vol. 15, p. 92. 
L. B. Hautefeuille: Le principe de Non-intervention et ses 

applications aux e'venements actuels. Paris, 1863. 8vo. 

(Reprinted from Revue Contemporaine, vol. 34, p. 193.) 
Heiberg: Das Princip der Nicht-Intervention. Leipzig, 1842. 
L. count Kamarowsky : The Principle of Non-Intervention (in 

Russian). Moscow, 1874. 
M. Kapoustine : Le droit d'intervention. 1876. 
Don Rafael Manuel de Labra : De la representacion y influ- 

encia dc los Estados-Unidos de America en el derecho in- 

ternacional. Madrid, 1877. 8vo, 38 pp. 
D. D. de Pradt : Vrai systeme de l'Europe relativement & 

l'Amerique. . . . 1825. C. -\~ In Pamphleteer, vols. 25 

and 26. BA. 
H. von Rotteck : Das Recht der Einmischung in die inneren 

Angelegenheiten eines fremden Staates. Freiburg, 1845. 



APPENDIX. 273 

Carl Riimelin : Die Monroe-Doctrin. Zeitschrift fur die 
gesammte Staatswissenschaft. Tubingen, 1882. Heft 2. 

Hermann Strauch : Zur Interventions-Lehre. Eine volker- 
rechtliche Studie. Heidelberg, 1879. See especially pp. 
17, 18. 

4. Occasions on which it has been Applied. 

a. THE PANAMA CONGRESS. 

Mr. Adams' Messages of February 2, 1826 (St. P., V. 794- 
797) and March 21 (V. 834-897). (Those of December 26, 
1825, and March 15, 1826, are to be found in United States, 
etc., below.) 

American Annual Register, 1826, chap. iv. 

Benton's Thirty Years, vol. 1, p. 65. 

Henry Clay's Dispatch to Mr. Poinsett, March 25, 1825 : In 
State Papers, Foreign Affairs, vol. 5, pp. 9.08, 909. 

Coronel Don Bernardo Monteagudo : Ensayo sobre la Necesi- 
dad de una Federacion Jeneral entre los Estados Hispano- 
Americanos, y Plan de su Organisacion. Obra Postuma del 
H. Coronel D., etc. Lima, 1825. (See Sparks, below.) 

Niles' Register, vols. 30, 36, passim. 

D. D. de Pradt: Congres de Panama. Paris, 1825. 8vo. 
BA. 

Revue Britannique, mars, 1826, pp. 159-176. Congres de 
Panama. 

[Jared Sparks] : Alliance of the Southern Republics. In 
North American Review, vol. 22, p. 162, January, 1826. 
(Review of Monteagudo, above.) 

J. M. Torres Caicedo : Union latina americana, etc. Union 
latine-americaine ; la pense'e de Bolivar, son origine et ses 
developpements. Paris, 1875. (Reviewed by A. Villamus, 
in Revue Politique et Litteraire, 30 sept., 1876.) 

United States, 19th Congress, 1st Session. [68.] The Execu- 
tive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States, on the 
subject of the Mission to the Congress at Panama, together 
with the Messages and Documents relating thereto. Wash- 
ington, 1826. 8vo, pp. 160. B, P. 
18 



274 APPENDIX. 

United States, 19th Congress, 1st Session. House of Repre- 
sentatives. [Document No. 129.] Congress of Panama. 
Message from the President of the United States, ... in 
relation to the Proposed Congress to be held at Panama. 
Washington, 1826. 8vo, pp. 90. 

United States. Congressional Debates, 19th Congress, 1st 
Session, vol. 2. Benton's Abridgment, viii. 417-472, 637- 
675 (Senate); ix. 48-50, 62-76, 90-218 (House of Repre- 
sentatives). 

Don Manuel Lorenzo de Vidanrre : Speech on opening the 
Congress. Niles' Register, vol 31, pp. 44-47. 

Von Hoist : Constitutional History of the United States, vol. 
1, pp. 409-432. 

Webster's Speech, in Works, vol. 3, pp. 178-217. 



C. Lefebvre de Be'cour : Des rapports de la France et de 
TEurope avec l'Amerique du Sud. From Revue des Deux 
Mondes, juil., 1838. BA. 

b. YUCATAN. 

Mr. Polk's Annual Message of December 2, 1845 (Statesman's 
Manual, iii. 1458) ; his Special Message on Yucatan, of 
April 29, 1848 (iii. 1737). (Benton, xvi. 187, 188.) 

Congressional Globe, vol. 18, and Appendix. 30th Congress, 
1st Session. Benton's Abridgment, xvi. 188, 189 (House); 
189, 190, 196-204 (Senate). 

Calhoun's Speech, May 15, 1848, in Works, iv. 454-479. 

Von Hoist, iii. 448-453. 

C. THE CLAYTOX-BULWER TREATY. 

Treaty with New Granada, December 12, 1846, especially 

Art. 35. In Statutes at Large, vol. x. 
Clayton and Bulwer Convention, 19th April, 1850, between 

the British and American Governments, concerning Central 

America, with Correspondence. 1856. 8vo. 
Joseph P. Coinegys : Memoir of John M. Clayton. (Papers 

of the Historical Society of Delaware, iv.) Wilmington, 

1882. Pp. 190-202, 211-234. JH. 



APPENDIX. 275 

Congressional Globe. 32d Congress, 2d Session, vol. 26, 1853. 

33d Congress, 1st Session, vol. 28, 1853. Appendix, vol. 29. 

34th Congress, 1st Session, 1855-1856, and appendix. 35th 

Congress, 1st Session. 
Clarendon-Dallas Treaty, 1856. 
Treaty with Nicaragua, June 21, 1867. 
United States. 34th Congress, 1st Session. Senate Ex. Doc. 

35. Messages of the President ... on the construction 

of the Treaty of July 4, 1850. (1856.) 
See also next section, and the last. 

d. CENTRAL AMERICA, 1845-1860. 

N[apoleon] L[ouis] Bfonaparte]: Canal of Nicaragua, or a 
Project to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by means 
of a Canal. Loudon, 1846. [Not published.] 

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte : Le Canal de Nicaragua, ou projet 
de jonction des oce'ans Atlantique et Pacifique. Revue 
Britannique, mai, 1849. 

[Sir Henry Bulwer] : Great Britain and the United States. 
Edinburgh Review, vol. 104, pp. 267-298. July, 1856. 

Canal interoce'anique parl'isthme de Darien, Nouvelle Granade 
(Amerique du Sud.) Canalisation par le colonisation. Paris, 
1860. 8vo, pp. 203. A. 

Correspondence with the United States respecting Central 
America. Printed by order of Parliament. London, 
1856-1860. Folio, pp. 344. 

Democratic Review, Oct. 1852. Vol. 31, p. 337. Our Foreign 
Relations. Central America. 

A. Denain : Interets qui se rattachent a, l'isthme de Panama, 
et aux differentes isthmes de 1' Amerique Centrale. Paris, 
1845. 8vo. C. 

Question Anglo-Ame'ricaine. Documents officiels echanges 
entre les Etats-Unis et l'Angleterre an sujet de l'Amerique 
Centrale et du traite Clay ton-Bulwer. Paris, 1856. 8vo. S. 

Xavier Raymond : Diplomatic Anglo-Americaine ; les Ameri- 
cans et les Anglais au Mexique et daus l'Amerique Cen- 
trale. Revue des Deux Mondes, 15 avril, 1853. 



276 APPENDIX. 

E. G. Squier : Letter to the Hon. II. S. Foote, Chairman of 
the Committee of Foreign Relations of the United States 
Senate, on the Nicaragua Treaty, 1850. N. 

[E. G. Squier] : The Mosquito Question. Whig Review, Feb- 
ruary, March, 1 850. 

[E. G. Squier] : The Islands of the Gulf of Honduras. Their 
Seizure and Organization as a British Colony. Democratic 
Review, vol. 31, p. 544. (November, December, 1852.) 

E. G. Squier : The States of Central America and the Hondu- 
ras Interoceanic Railway. New York, 1858. 8vo, pp. 782. 

N. 

e. cuba, etc., 1850-60. 

G. d'Alanx, Cuba et la propaganda anncxioniste. Revue des 
Deux Mondes, 15 juil., 1850. 

Buchanan, Mason and Soule : the " Ostend Manifesto." Dip- 
lomatic Correspondence, 1854-1855. Buchanan: Message, 
December 3, 1860. 

General Cass to Lord Napier, May 12, May 29, 1857, ... No- 
vember, 1858; to Mr. Dodge, October 2,1858. (Spanish 
invasion of Mexico.) 

J. Chanut, La Question de Cuba aux Etats-Unis et en Europe. 
Revue Contemporaiue, vol. 8, p. 470. (1859.) 

Congressional Globe. 33d Congress, 2d Session. ( 1854-1 855. ) 
(Ostend Manifesto.) 35th Congress, 2d Session. (1859.) 
(Cuba.) 

Revue Britannique, aout, 1854; pp. 257-290. La question 
de Cuba, jugee au point de vue Ame'ricaine. 

[E. G. Squier'?]: The Cuban Debate. Democratic Review, 
vol. 31, pp. 433, 624. (November, December, 1852.) 

f. FRENCH INTERVENTION IN MEXICO. 

Congressional Globe. 37th Congress, 3d Session, Appendix, 
p. 94. 38th Congress, 1st Session; the House resolution 
of April 4, 1864, and debate on it. 39th Congress, 1st Ses- 
sion ; message on the sending of Austrian troops to Mexico, 
and debate thereon. 39th Congress, 2d Session ; on Mex« 
ican affairs. 



APPENDIX, 271 

Democratic Review, vol. 32, p. 39. Mexico and the Monroe 

Doctrine. 
Fraser's Magazine, vol. 64, p. 717. December, 1861. Mexico. 
Free Press, Urquhart, vol. 9. November 6, 1861. Collective 

Intervention in the New World. 
Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, vol. 50, p. 415, vol. 51, p. 106. 

(June, August, 1864.) The Conquest of Mexico by 

France. 
V. W. Kingsley, French Intervention in Mexico, 1863, pph. N. 
A.Laugel: France and the United States. Nation, vol.1, 

p. 302. (September 7, 1865.) 
Joshua Leavitt : The Key of the Continent. New Englander, 

vol. 23, p. 517. (July, 1864.) 
E. Lefevre : Histoire de l'intervention francaise au Mexique. 

Vol. 2, ch. 18, etc. Bruxelles et Londres. 1869. 
H. Mercier de Lacombe : Le Mexique et les Etats-Unis. 2 e 

ed. Paris, 1863. 8vo. B. 
Mexico and the Monroe Doctrine, [n. p. 1862?] 8vo, pp. 

24. 
Nation, vol. 1, p. 678. November 30, 1865. The Solution 

of the Mexican Problem. 
Revne Britanniqne, septembre, 1863, pp. 213-224. Le Mex- 
ique au point de vue americaine, avant et depuis l'expedi- 

tion francaise. 
G. Reynolds : Mexico. Atlantic Monthly, vol. 14, p. 51. 

July, 1864. 
J. H. Robinson : The Mexican Question. North American 

Review, vol. 103, pp. 106-142. July, 1866. 
United States : Message and Documents, Department of State, 

1863-1864. 
United States : Messages of the President of the United 

States to Congress, with accompanying documents relating 

to the Mexican Question. 
Justus Strictus Veritas, pseud. : Nuevas Reflexiones sobre la 

Cuestion Franco-Mexicana. Folleto publicado en Paris, el 

30 de setiembre de 1862, por supplements alCorreo de ultra- 
mar. Mexico, 1862. 16mo, pp. 192. C. 



278 APPENDIX. 

Westminster Review, vol. 80, p. 313. October, 1863. The 
French Conquest of Mexico. Same art., Eclectic Magazine, 
vol. 61, p. 36. Same art., Living Age, vol. 79, p. 251. 

g. THE INTER-OCEANIC CANAL — (OFFICIAL). 

Congressional Record, vol. 9, p. 2312. Senator Burnside's 
resolution, June 25, 1879. (46th Congress, 1st Session. S. 
R. No. 43.) Further discussion in vol. 10. 

President Hayes: Message, March 8, 18S0. In Congressional 
Record, vol. 10, p. 1399. Since printed with documents. 

Papers relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States. 
1881. Mr. Blaine to Mr. Lowell (circular), June 24, 1881, 
pp. 537-540. Lord Granville to Mr. Hoppin, November 10, 
1881, p. 549. Mr. Blaine to Mr. Lowell, November 19 x 
1S81, pp. 554-559; November 29, 1881, pp. 563-569. 

Earl Granville to Mr. West, Jan 14, (7?) 1882. 

Correspondence respecting the projected Panama Canal. Pre- 
sented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her 
Majesty. 1882. 

Mr. Frelinghuvsen to Mr. Lowell, May 8, 1882. 

Don Antonio Aguilar, Marquis de la Vega de Armijo, to Don 
Francisco Barca, Spanish Minister at Washington, March 
15, 1882. In " the Red Book," Madrid, 1882. 

Congres International d'Etudes du Canal Interoceanique. 

Compte Rendu des Seances. Paris, 1879. 
Bulletin du Canal Interoceanique, Nos. 1 to 60-f- (September 

1, 1879, to February 15, 1882.) Paris. 

(unofficial.) 

D. Ammen : M. de Lesseps and his Canal. (See Lesseps, 

below.) North American Review, vol. 130, pp. 130-146. 

February, 1880. 
Cassell's, December, 1879. Panama and the Isthmus. 
A Delawarean : The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and the report 

of the Committee of the House on Foreign Relations against 

it. May 1, 1880. S. 
Edinburgh Review, April, 1 882. The Panama Canal. 



APPENDIX. 279 

U. S. Grant : The Nicaragua Canal. North American Review, 

vol. 132, pp. 197-116. February, 1881. 
Harper's Monthly Magazine, vol. 60. p. 935. (Easy Chair.) 

Lesseps and the Darien Canal. 
The International Canal and the Monroe Doctrine. New 

York, 1880. 16mo, pp. 118. 
F. de Lesseps : The Interoceanic Canal. North American 

Review, vol. 130, pp. 1-15. January, 1880. Vol. 131, pp. 

75-78. July, 1880. 
A. Letellier : Les Travaux du Canal de Panama. Nouvelle 

Revue, 1 juil., 1882. 
The Monroe Doctrine and Isthmian Canal. North American 

Review, vol. 130, p. 499. 
The Nation, vol. 30, p. 90. February 5, 1880. The United 

States Government and the Panama Canal. — Vol. 33, p. 

348. November 3, 1881. American Policy towards the 

Isthmus Canal. —Vol. 34, p. 92. February 2, 1882. An- 
other chapter of Mr. Blaine's Diplomacy. — Vol. 34, p. 114. 

February 9, 1882. Mr. Blaine's Manifesto. — Vol. 34, p. 

156-157.— Vol. 34, p. 200. March 7,1882. "A Spirited 

Foreign Policy." 
T. W. Osborn : The Darien Canal. International Review, 

Vol. 7, pp. 481-497. November, 1879. 
Popular Science Monthly. Vol. 16, pp. 842-849. April, 1880. 

Some Features of the Interoceanic Canal Question. Vol. 

20, pp. 273-275. December, 1881 . Our policy respecting the 

Panama Canal. 
Revue Britannique, juil., 1879. Le Congres du Canal Inter- 
ocean i que. 
Dr. Rudolf Schleiden : Die rechtliche und politische Seite 

der Panama-Canal-Frage, Preuszische Jahrbiicher, Juni, 

1882. 

h. AMERICA NORTH OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Nootka-Sound Convention between Spain and Great Britain. 

October 28, 1790. Recueil des Traites, 2 e ed. iv. 492-499. 
Treaty between the United States and Spain. February 22, 

1819. Statutes at Large, viii., 252-267. Boston, 1867. 



280 APPENDIX. 

Ukase of the Emperor Alexander. September 4, (16,) 1821. 
State Papers, Foreign, V. 

Message from the President of the United States ... in rela- 
tion to Claims set up by Foreign Governments, to Territory 
of the United States upon the Pacific Ocean, 1822. 

W. Sturgis : Examination of the Russian Claims to the 
Northwest Coast of America, North American Review, vol. 
1 5, pp. 370-401 . October, 1 822. 

Robert Greenhow : History of Oregon and California and 
other Territories on the Northwest Coast of North America. 
Boston, 1845. 8vo. (And treaties in appendix.) 

Congressional Globe. 40th Congress, 1st (extra) Session. 
(Alaska purchase.) (Also Canada resolution.) 

C. de Varigny : La doctrine Monroe et le Canada. Revue des 
Deux Mondes, 1879, vol. 32. 



\ 



INDEX. 



Accolade, 49, 50, 51. 

Adams, Charles Francis, quoted as 
to origin of Monroe Doctrine, 169. 

Adams, Henry, " Life of Randolph," 
quoted, 35; "Life of Gallatin," 
quoted, 168. 

Adams, John, 2, 68, 125, 126, 127, 
165 ; Monroe's hostility to the ad- 
ministration of, 64. 

Adams, John Quincy, quoted, 12, 
26, 38, 45, 97 ; 125, 126, 127, 169 ; 
sketch of his career, 127 ; in Mon- 
roe's cabinet, 127-155 ; relation to 
the Monroe Doctrine, 167-171 ; 
other mention of, 189, 191 ; anec- 
dote of, 220. 

Ambrister and Arbuthnot, execu- 
tion of, 141. 

Amelia Island, 231, 232. 

America for Americans, the idea of 
Monroe'? policy, 215. 

"American language," 50. 

Ames, Fisher, quoted, 68. 

Amphictyonic Council, etc., 27. 

Annapolis, congress at, 18 ; conven- 
tion at, 21. 

Apollo, seizure of the, 237. 

Arbuthnot, execution of, 141. 

Armstrong, John, 108-124 ; at Bat- 
tle of Bladensburg, 116. 

Auckland, Lord, 96. 

Baltimore, Monroe's speech at, 137. 

Bancroft, George, quoted, 19, 20, 22, 
24. 

Barlow, Joel, Minister to France, 
107. 

Barney, Joshua, carries flag to 
French Convention, 51. 

Benton, Thomas H., 126, 210. 

Bladensburg, Battle of, Monroe's re- 
lation to, 116-124. 

Bonaparte, Jerome, marriage of, 87. 

Bonaparte, Napoleon, negotiates for 
sale of Louisiana, 74-90 ; instructs 



Marbois, 79 ; thanks Marbois, 84 ; 
interview with Monroe, 84 ; arbi- 
trary powers of, 92, 93. 

Boundary, Massachusetts and New 
York, 26. 

"Bowler, Jack," 33. 

Brandywine, Battle of, 10. 

Breckenridge, John, 32. 

Brock, R. C, 218. 

Burr, Aaron, 131. 

Cabinet of Monroe, sketches of the 
members, 126-135. 

Calhoun, John C, 126-130, 132, 135, 
142, 151, 155,189,210,212; sketch 
of his career, 128. 

Callender publication, 71. 

Cambaceres, M., 81, 85. 

Camden, Lord, portrait of, 6. 

Campan, Madame, friend of Hor- 
tensia Hay, 178, 183. 

Canning, George, 101, 143, 170, 171 ; 
relation to Monroe Doctrine, 171. 

Capital, public buildings at, 230 ; 
capture of, 119-124. 

Carr, Dabney, 4. 

Cary, Archibald, 11. 

Castlereagh, Lord, 141, 143, 167. 

Cevallos, Don Pedro, 95. 

Chateaubriand, M., 168. 

Chatham, Lord, portrait of, 6, 7. 

Cherokees, treaty with, 238. 

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 249. 

Civil service, Monroe's attitude re- 
specting, 213, 214. 

Clay, Henry, 126, 132, 133, 143, 155, 
189. 

Coast, defence of : see Defence. 

Coit, Daniel L., letters to, 38-62. 

Coit, Joshua, letters hitherto im- 
printed on the state of the Union in 
1794, 38-62 ; critical relations with 
France, 39; French "frenzy," 39, 
43, 44 ; Madison's resolutions, 39 ; 
Southern hostility to Great Brit- 



282 



INDEX. 



ain, 40 ; embargo. 42 ; sequ 
tiou of British debt proposed. 42 : 
Minister to England talked o 
Jay nominated, 43; embargo de- 
creed, 43 ; danger of dissolution 
of Union, 4.'!. 44; presentation of 
the French flag, 62. 

College life of Monroe, 8, 9. 

Commerce, Monroe's (news on regu- 
lation of. 19-21, 237, 243. 

Commercial relations of United 
. 

Committee of Public Safety, French, 
45, 46, 57. 

Confederation, inefficiency of the, 
17-21. 

Congress, Monroe's action as dele- 
gate in, 17-26 : Coit's letters from 
(IT'^'4 ;. prior to Monroe's first mis- 
sion, 38-44: Monroe on the pow- 
ers of, 239-247. 

Constitution of United States, Mon- 
roe's views on the adoption of 
and on the powers of, 27-30, 242, 
243. 

Convention of Virginia (1770), 8 ; 
(1788), 17, 27 : (1830), 17. 

Convention, French, in 1794, Mon- 
roe's relation to. 45-55. 

Cornell University Library. 66. 

Correspondence, delays in diplo- 
matic. 5."). 5G, 61. 

Crawford, William H., 120, 127, 130, 
131, 132, 138, 142, 155. 

Croix, de la, 60. 

Crowninshield, Benjamin W., 127. 

Culluin, George W., quoted, 110, 
118. 

Cumberland Road Bill, Monroe's 
veto of, and explanation, 149, 239- 
249. 

Dane, Nathan, 25. 

Dayton, J., 63. 

Debt, national, 230, 235, 248, 249. 

Defence of coast and frontier, 229, 

230, 232, 235, 237, 238, 251. 
Diplomacy, perils of, 36 ; delays of, 

55, 56, 61. 
Diplomatic relations, presidential 

messages on, 230-232, 234, 236, 

237, 249. 
District of Columbia, 232, 252 
Drayton, W. H., 134. 

England, Monroe's mission to, 93- 
100, 211 ; convention with, 251. 
See Treaty. 

" Era of good feeling," 2. 

Erskine, Mr., 97. 



Eustis. William, Secretary of War, 
104, 107, 136. 

Federalists, 28-30, 67, 135. 

Finance : see Debt. 

Financial embarrassment of Mon- 
roe, 252. 

Flag, presentation of, to French 
Convention, 51 ; to American Con- 
gress, I '.2. 

Floridas, desire of the United States 
to acquire, 85, 95 ; acquisition of, 
135, 143; see also Spain / Jack- 
son's campaign in. 140-143 ; troub- 
les in, 232 ; territorial government 
of, 248. 

Foster, Mr., 105, 100. 

Foster, Wm. E., compiles a bibliog- 
raphy of American statesmen, vi. 
■rles J., 96. 

Fiance, Monroe's first mission to, 

36 73 : Monroe's second mission 

. 71 93 ; war threatened with, 

38, 39, 52 ; our natural ally, 44 ; 

commercial treaty with. 234, 248. 

Franklin, Benjamin, 13. 

Frontier, defence of : see Defence. 

Gabriel, "General," 32. 

Gallatin, Albert, 104, 112, 168. 

< rarnett, James M., 219. 

Genet, M., 39. 

Germantown, Battle of, 10. 

i rhent : see Treaty. 

Goose Creek, Virginia, 220. 

Gore, C, 68. 

Gouverneur, S. L., Mr. and Mrs., 
178, 183, 184, 191, 195, 196, 200. 

Gouverneur, S. L., quoted, 207. 

Gouverneur manuscripts relating to 
Monroe, hitherto imprinted, quot- 
ed, 53, 55, 58, 63, 69, 70, 208, etc. 

Government, general, and the sev- 
eral States, Monroe's views on, 
239. 

Grayson, W., 24, 27, 30. 

Great Britain, convention with, 251. 
See England. 

Grigsby, H. B., quoted, 8. 

Haerlem, Battle of, 10. 
Hamilton, Alexander, 30, 71, 164. 
Hamilton, Paul, 104. 
Hammond's "Political History," 

quoted, 131. 
Harper, Robert G., 68. 
Harrison, Gov. Benjamin, 23. 
Harrowby, Lord, 93. 
Hart, C. F., quoted, 75. 
Harvard College, 8, 129. 



INDEX. 



283 



Hawkesbury, Lord, 93. 

Hay, George (Mr. and Mrs.), 178, 

182, 183, 191, 192, 194, 197, 220. 
Hay, Hortensia, 178, 183. 
Henry, Patrick, 9, 27. 
Hildreth, R., quoted, 68, 69, 71. 
Hoar, G. F., 8. 
Holland, Lord, 97 ; his account of 

negotiations with Monroe and 

Pinkney, 98. 
Hoist, von, quoted, 130. 
"Homoselle,"32. 
Hortense, Queen, 178, 183. 
Howison's "Virginia," quoted, 32. 

Illinois, admission of, 232. 

Imposts, Monroe's report on collec- 
tion of, 19, 20. 

Indians, relations with, 230-232, 236, 
251, 252. 

Internal improvements, Monroe's 
views on, 149, 230, 231, 250, 251, 
252 ; message on, 239-248. 

Jackson, Andrew, 28, 126, 133, 134, 
140, 141, 142, 144, 155 ; his hostil- 
ity to Monroe, 207 ; Monroe's re- 
lations to, 206. 

Jameson, J. F., compiles a Monroe 
bibliography, 253; notes by, 229. 

Jay, John, 26, 31, 37 ; Minister to 
England, 43, 57-65. 

Jay's treaty : see Treaty. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 2, 12, 13, 15, 16, 
18, 22-24, 72, 74-77, 94, 102, 125, 
126, 152, 156, 176, 194, 213 ; begin- 
ning of intimacy with Monroe, 16 ; 
estimate of Monroe, 209 ; letter to 
Livingston, quoted, 73 ; letters to 
Monroe, quoted, 18, 74 ; relations 
to the Monroe Doctrine, 163, 165, 
166, 168, 170 ; withholds the Mon- 
roe treaty, 97, 100. 

Jennings, Edward, 6, 7. 

Jones, Joseph (Monroe's uncle), 4; 
correspondence with Monroe, 13, 
14, 19, 58, 63, 71, 94, 175, 177. 

Kennedy, J. P., quoted, 131, 155. 

Kent, James, 135. 

King, Rufus, 24, 25, 125, 144, 145. 

Kingsbury, F. J., quoted, 5. 

Knox, General, 194. 

Kortwright, Eliza (Mrs. Monroe), 

175, 177. 
Kortwright, Lawrence, 175. 

Lafayette, Marquis de, 56 ; prisoner 
in Olmutz, 56, 150 ; visits Amer- 
ica, 136, 150-155, 250, 251 ; eti- 



quette as to his reception, 151 ; 
examples of his correspondence 
with Monroe, 151-153 ; offers pe- 
cuniary assistance to Monroe, 154. 

Lafayette, Madame, 56, 150. 

Lagrange, Americans welcomed at, 
by Lafayette, 152, 153. 

Land, good, promotes good society, 
5, and note. 

Lands, public, sale of, 230, 235. 

Lawrence, W. B., translator of Mar- 
bois, 75. 

Lee, Dr., 7. 

Lee, Henry, 4. 

Lee, Richard Henry, 4, 7, 24. 

Lee, Robert E., 5. 

Lewis and Clarke's expedition, 76. 

Livingston, R. R., 37 ; Minister to 
France, 77 ; negotiates for Louis- 
iana, 76-90 ; writes to Monroe 
(April 10, 1803), 78 ; his midnight 
dispatch to Madison, 80 ; estimate 
of the treaty, 83 ; writes to Madi- 
son in respect to cession of Lou- 
isiana (November 15, 1803), 88. 

Louisiana, cession of, by France to 
the United States, 74-90 ; circum- 
stances which led to it, 90 ; results 
which came from it, 90 ; Monroe's 
satisfaction with, 86 ; Livingston's 
story of, 78, 83. 

Madison, James, 2, 5, 16, 21-23, 32, 
34, 39, 93, 101, 102, 125, 126, 127, 
149, 156, 163, 164, 176, 194, 213 ; 
in convention of 1788, 27 ; nom- 
inated as President, 102; Pres- 
ident, 104-124; cabinet of, 104; 
letter of Monroe to, in respect to 
the Secretary of War, 108 ; last 
letter from Monroe to, 196 ; last 
letter to Monroe, 198 ; his esti- 
mate of Monroe, 209. 

Marbois, Barbe\ his work on the ces- 
sion of Louisiana, 74 ; Monroe's 
estimate of, 75 ; negotiations of, 
respecting the Louisiana cession, 
74-90. 

Marriage of Monroe to Miss Kort- 
wright, 175-178. 

Marshall, John, 9, 23, 181, 213 ; in 
college with Monroe, 8 ; in Vir- 
ginia Convention (1788), 27. 

Mason, George, 2, 27. 

Mason, Thompson, 2. 

Massachusetts, boundary dispute, 
26 ; claims of for compensation, 
250, 252. 

McHenry, James, 20. 

McKean, Thomas, 63. 



284 



INDEX. 



McLane, Louis, quoted, 173. 

McLean, John, 127, 209 ; Monroe's 
letter to, 202. 

Meade, Bishop, quoted, 7, 8. 

Meigs, R. J., 127. 

Mercer, Hugh, 9. 

Merlin de Douai, 49, 57. 

Mississippi, Monroe's memoir on, 20, 
75 ; control and free navigation 
of, 25, 26, 28, 45, 76, 95, 211, 215 ; 
Spanish control of, 90, 163 ; de- 
fence of valley of, 238. 

Missouri, admission of, 144. 

Missouri Compromise, 92, 135, 144- 
149. 

Monmouth, Battle of, 10. 

Monroe, Andrew. 72. 218. 

Monroe Doctrine, text of, 157-101 ; 
announcement of, 249-250 ; not 
a personal decree, 161 ; its grad- 
ual development in the utterances 
of American statesmen, 102-166; 
Canning's relations to, 171 ; re- 
ception of the message, 172 ; dis- 
cussion in Congress, 173 ; allusions 
to, 102-174 ; Bibliography of, 269. 

Monro, George, •_' is. 

Monroe, Hector, 4. 

Monroe, James. 

Sources of information, v. 
Manuscripts of, v. 
Bibliography of his life and writ- 
ings, by J. F. Jameson, 253. 
Synopsis of his career, xi, 1. 
Review of his career, 200-217. 
Birth, 4. 

Pedigree, 218, 219. 
Boyhood, 5-7. 
College life, 7-9. 
Revolutionary service, 9-12. 
Student of law, 13-16. 
Intimacy with Jefferson begins, 

16. 
Civil service begins, 17. 
Delegate to Congress, 17-26. 
Views on collecting imports, 22. 
Tour to the West, 23. 
Views on territorial government, 

24. 
Views on the Navigation of the 

Mississippi, 26. 
Commissioner on boundary dis- 
pute, 26. 
Member of the Virginian Consti- 
tutional Convention (1788), 27. 
Opposes the United States Con- 
stitution, 27-29. 
Speeches, in relation thereto, 27- 

29. 
United States Senator, 30-32. 



Governor of Virginia, 32-35. 

Suppresses insurrection, 33. 

Envoy to France, 36-73. 

Instructions from E. Randolph, 
44. 

Presented to French Convention, 
46-51. 

Aids Lafayette, Paine, and others, 
56. 

Discusses Jay's treaty, 58. 

Recalled, 61-64. 

Publishes his " View," 62-66. 

Its reception, 66-68. 

Governor of Virginia, 32-35. 

Envoy to France, Spain, and Eng- 
land, 74-103. 

Negotiates for cession of Louisi- 
ana. 76, seq. 

Interview with Bonaparte, 84. 

Proceeds to England, 93. 

Visits Madrid, 95. 

Negotiates a treaty with England, 
97. 

Which is not ratified by Jeffer- 
son, 97. 

Mission described by Lord Hol- 
land, 98. 

Returns to America, 101. 

Is talked of for the Presidency, 
102. 

Becomes Secretary of State, 104. 

And of War, ad intfhm, 108. 

And again of War, 119. 

At the Battle of Bladensburg, 117. 

His narrative of capture and de- 
fence of Washington, 118-124. 

Insists on a vigorous prosecution 
of the war, 124. 

President of the United States, 
125-155. 

Cabinet of, 126-132. 

Opponents of, 132. 

Important subjects of his admin- 
istration, 135. 

Tours to the North, East, West, 
and South, 136-140. 

Relations to Jackson, 142. 

Veto of Cumberland Road Bill, 
149. 

Receives Lafayette, 150-155. 

Monroe Doctrine, origin and 
enunciation of, 156-174, 249- 
250. See Monroe Doctrine. 

Personal appearance and domes- 
tic relations of, 175-199. 

Marriage, 175-178. 

Financial affairs of, 198, 252. 

Old age, 200. 

Retrospect of his life, 200. 

Estimates of, 209. 



INDEX. 



285 



Dominant political idea of, 215. 
Sketches and favorable estimates 
by Adams, J. Q., 209. 

Benton, 210. 

Calhoun, 210. 

Lord Holland, 99. 

Jefferson, 209. 

Kennedy, J. P., 155. 

Lafayette, 154, 211. 

Madison, 209. 

McLean, J., 209. 

Lord Stirling, 11. 

Thiers, 70. 

Washington, 11, 209. 

Watson, 185. 

Webster, D., 210. 

Wirt, 181. 

Suggested by a review of his 
public and private papers, 

Monroe, James, Bibliography of, by 
J. F. Jameson, 253. 
Biographies of, 255. 
Monroe, James, Letters of, to Joseph 
Jones, 13, 19, 71, 94. 

T. Jefferson, 18, 19, 20, 23. 

176, 177. 
John Randolph, 33. 
Lord Stirling, 12, 16. 
Governor Harrison, 23. 
James Madison, 19, 21, 22, 23, 

163, 176, 196. 
A. Jackson, 28. 
G. Washington, 55. 
Barb^ Marbois, 86. 
A private correspondent, 145. 
His nephew, 179. 
Monroe James, Presidential mes- 
sages of, 229-252. 

Principal topics, 
Amelia Island, 231, 232. 
Apollo, seizure of the, 237. 
Capital, public buildings at the. 
230. ' 

Cherokees, treaty with, 238. 
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 249. 
Commerce, regulation of, 237, 243. 
Commercial relations, 236. 
Congress, powers of, 239-247. 
Constitution, powers of, 242, 243. 
Cumberland Road Bill, veto of, 
239, 249 ; exposition of his views 
on the subject, 239-248. 
Defence of coast and frontier, 229 

230, 232, 235, 237, 238. 
Diplomatic relations, 230, 231, 232 

234, 236, 237, 249. 
District of Columbia, 232, 252. 
Finance. See National Debt. 
Financial accounts of, 252. 



Florida, territorial government, 



Florida, troubles in, 232. 
Florida, cession of. See Spain. 
France, commercial treaty with 
234. 

France, convention with, 248. 
Ghent, treaty of, 230, 248. 
Government, general, and of sepa- 
rate States, 239. 
Great Britain, convention with 

Illinois, admission of, 232. 

Indians, relations with, 230-232 
236, 251, 252. ' 

Internal improvements, 230, 231 
239-248, 250-252. ' 

Lafayette, visit of, 250, 251. 

Massachusetts, claims of, for com- 
pensation, 250, 252. 

Mississippi, Valley of, defence, 
238. ' 

" Monroe Doctrine," 249, 250. 

National debt, 230, 235, 248, 249. 

Neutrals, rights of, 250, 251. 

Northwest Boundary, negotiations 
respecting, 249. 

Pacific Coast, military station on, 

Pensions, 230. 
Privateering, 249. 
Protection to manufactures, 237. 
Public lands, sale of, 230, 235. 
Reciprocity system of 1815, 237. 
Seminaries of learning, 231. 
Seminoles, 248. 

Slave-trade, abolition of, 234, 236, 

237,249-251. ' 

South American revolutions, 232, 

235, 236, 248, 251. 
Spain cedes Florida, 233, 234, 236, 

238. ' 

Spain, relations with, 231-233, 

236. 
Stewart, Commodore, 252. 
Supreme Court, 251. 
Taxes, internal, repeal of, 230, 

236, 237. 
Union, prosperity of , 234, 236, 250, 

251. ' 

West Point, Military Academy, 

Monroe, John, 5, 218. 

Monroe, Joseph, 72. 

Monroe, Mrs. James, 175-178, 182, 

183, 194, 195. 
Monroe, Spence, 4. 
Monroe's Creek, Virginia, 4. 
Monroes in Massachusetts, 218. 
Montesquieu, 152. 



286 



INDEX. 



Morris, Gouverneur, 31, 37, 65 ; 

passports of, 55. 
Mulgrave, Lord, 95. 

"Napoleon I., Correspondance de," 
quoted, 82, 84. See Bonaparte, X. 

Nepotism, Monroe's freedom from, 
213, •-'14. 

Neutrals, violations of the rights of, 
9(3 •_>-,(}_ 28] 

New'orie'ans,^, 75, 78, 88, 90. 

Nicholas, John, 64. 

Noland, R. W. N., description of 

Oak Hill, 219. 
Noland, W., 220. 
Northwest boimdary, negotiations 

respecting. 249. 
Northwest territory, 24, 90-92. See, 

also, Louisiana. 

Oak Hill (Monroe's residence), 194, 
199, 200 ; description of, 219, 220. 
Onis, Luis de, Spanish envoy, 143. 
Ordinance of 17S7, 24, 25. 

Pacific coast, military station on, 
251. 

Paine, Thomas, 56, 61, 67, 165. 

Patterson, Miss, 87. 

Pensions, 230. 

Perceval, Spencer, 104. 

Phi Beta Kappa Society, 9. 

Pichon, M., 61, 62. 

Pickering, Timothy, Gl ; answers 
Monroe, 64. 

Pinckney, C. C, 61, 62, 65. 

Pinckney, Thomas, 37. 

Pinkney. William, Maryland com- 
missioner, 96 ; Minister to Eng- 
land, 96 ; described by Lord Hol- 
land, 98 ; in Madison's cabinet, 
104. 

Pitt, W., death of, 96. 

Plumer, W., quoted on origin of 
Monroe Doctrine, 171. 

Pope, William, 132. 

Pownall, Thomas, quoted, 162. 

Presidency, Monroe's apprehension 
respecting the permanence of. 27 ; 
his training for, 216 ; election, 
125 ; reelection, 125 ; dignity of, 
155 ; rival candidates for, 132, 
155. 

Presidential messages, Monroe's, 
synopsis of, 229. 

Princeton College, 8. 

Privateering, 249. 

Prosser, Thomas, 32. 

Protection to manufactures, 237. 

Public lands : see Lands. 



Quincy, Josiah, 132. 

Randall's Jefferson, quoted, 18, 170. 
Randolph. Edmund, 27, 40, 61 ; his 

instructions to Monroe, 44 ; his 

criticisms on Monroe, 53. 
Randolph, John, his friendship and 

his hostility toward Monroe, oD- 

35, 144, 190. 
Randolph, Peyton, 2. 
Reciprocity system of 1815, 237. 
Richmond, armory at, 35. 
Robespierre, fall of, 45, 54. 
Rousseau, interment of, 51. 
Retrospect of Monroe's career, 200. 
It liea, letter, 142. 
Rives, W. C. quoted, 173. 
Robertson's "Debates," quoted, 27. 
Robinson, Win., quoted, 122. 
Ross and Cockburn, 118. 
Bush, Richard, 126, 132, 143, 167. 
Rutledge, 72. 

Safety, Committee of Public, 52, 58. 

S.mborn, F. B., quoted, 218. 

Schouler's " Hist, of United States," 
quoted, 124, 166. 

Seaboard, Atlantic, defence of, 135. 

Seminaries of learning, 231. 

Semmoles, 135, 140-144, 24S. 

Shelby, Governor Isaac, 134. 

Short, William, letters to, from Jef- 
ferson, 166, 168. 

Slave-trade, abolition of, 234, 236, 
237, 249-251. 

Slavery, 24, 25, 144-147, 215. 

Smith, Robert, 104. 

Smith, General, 87, 120. 

South American States, and revolu- 
tions, 232, 235, 236, 248, 251. 

Spain yields Louisiana to France, 76, 
90 ; cedes Florida to United States, 
233, 234, 236, 238 ; Monroe's mis- 
sion to, 85, 95 ; relations with, 
231-233, 236. 

Sparks, Jared, quoted, 19, 64, 66. 

State, Secretary of, Monroe, 104. 

Stamp Act, 5. 

Stewart, Commodore, 252. 

Stirling, Lord, 10-12, 16. 

Sumner, Charles, quoted, 162, 171. 

Supreme Court of the United States, 
251. 

Swift, Joseph G., 136. 

Talleyrand, M., negotiations of re- 
specting cession of Louisiana, 74- 
90. 

Taxes, internal, repeal of, 230, 236, 
237. 



INDEX. 



287 



Thiers, M., quoted, in respect to 
Monroe, 70. 

Thompson, Smith, 135. 

Ticknor, George, quoted, 61. 

Tompkins, Daniel D., 125. 

Tours, Monroe's, to North, West, 
and South, 136-140. 

Trade, regulation of, by Congress, 
21, 22. 

Treaty with Cherokees, 238; with 
England (Jay), reception of in 
France, 57-61, 65, 66 ; in the Unit- 
ed States, 63 ; (Monroe and Pink- 
ney), 96, 97 ; (of Ghent), 144, 230, 
248 ; with France (Monroe and 
Livingston), 74-90; with France 
(commercial), 234, 248 ; with Spain 
(Florida purchase), 143, 233-238. 

Trenton, Battle of, 10, 36. 

Trenton, Congress at, 18. 

Tucker, St. George, quoted, 2, 3. 

Tuley, Mrs., reminiscences quoted, 
182. 

Tuyl, Baron, Adams's conversation 
with, 169. 

Union, Monroe's attachment to the, 
146, 147 ; possibility of dissolu- 
tion, 28-30, 43, 44, 145, 208 ; pros- 
perity of , 234, 236, 250, 251. 

University of Virginia, 16, 200. 

"View of the Conduct of the Execu- 
tive," by Monroe and its recep- 
tion, 64-70, 221. 

Virginia, Constitutional Conven- 
tions, 17, 27 ; Monroe in Legisla- 
ture of, 17. 

Virginia, Jefferson's Notes on, 18. 

Virginia, Monroe Governor of, 17. 

Waldo's "President's Tour," quoted, 

137. 
Walker, John, 30. 



War of the Revolution, Monroe's 
service in, 9-12. 

War of 1812, Monroe's relations to, 
123. ' 

War, Seminole, 140. 

War, danger of, with France, 38-44 ; 
with Spain, 95. 

Washburne, E. B., quoted, 48, 50. 

Washington, British capture of, 118; 
Monroe's narrative, 119-124. 

Washington, Bushrod, 5, 9. 

Washington, George, 2, 4, 9, 20, 29, 
30, 37, 52, 55, 64, 125, 194, 213; 
commends Monroe, 11, 209 ; his 
notes on Monroe's "View," 66; 
Appendix, on, 221-229; sugges- 
tions on American freedom from 
European interference, 163, 164; 
Monroe's attitude toward the ad- 
ministration of, 30, 37, 62, 66, 67. 

Washington, William, 10. 

Watson, E. R., personal recollec- 
tions of Monroe, 185-195. 

Webster, Daniel, 126, 189 ; on Mon- 
roe Doctrine, 173. 

West, Benjamin, 6. 

Westmoreland County, Virginia, 
noteworthy men of, 4, 6, 7, 218. 

West Point, United States Military 
Academy, 248. 

White Plains, Battle of, 10. 

Wilkinson, General, quoted, 10. 

Williams, J. S., quoted, 118. 

William and Mary, College of, 7, 9, 
181. 

Williamsburg, Virginia, 8, 9, 13. 

Winder, General,' 116-124. 

Wirt, William, 2, 102, 126, 127, 131, 
135, 155 ; sketch of Monroe as 
Governor, 180, 181, 195. 

Wolcott, Oliver, quoted, 67. 
Wythe, George, professor of law at 
William and Mary, 13-15. 

Yale College, 8. 



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